Board 8 > Is Skyward Sword on the Switch worth purchasing?

(+) Yeah! (+)

$60 right now, maybe on sale for the holidays though...?

BotW > WW (GameCube) >= OoT (3DS > N64) > MM (3DS > N64) >> TP (Wii)

LBW > LoZ > LttP (nostalgia's not as strong but been meaning to replay) >> LA (GBA) >> Zelda 2 > Four Swords

No spoilers please, but what will help me know if SS is worth buying now, worth buying on sale, or isn't for me? It seems like it's the most forgotten mainline LoZ-game and it came between my favorite and least favorite 3D LoZ-games. I'll try the motion controls and am cool with the concept, but I expect to be handheld with joysticks most of the time playing it.

I'm in a LoZ-mood but Cadence of Hyrule didn't scratch the itch. What about SS?

In terms of being a Zelda game, it's probably one of the worse ones IMO. It has a lot of design flaws with the pacing of the game (especially the original release, they fixed it some for the Switch version though). Also has quite a bit of repetition and there isn't much meaningful exploration.

That said, it's still a Zelda game, so it's still very quality. Just less so than most of the others. I'd recommend it if you haven't played it and are in a Zelda mood. I don't know if I'd say buy it at $60 these days personally, but I've also spent more money on worse games so if you can't get it cheaper than I'd still say its okay.

Personally, I can't stand motion controls. So I never got into SS originally even though I'm a huge Zelda fan.

I was intrigued when it was announced to release on Switch with an alternative to motion controls... but it wasn't actually a viable alternative apparently. The controls still leave much to be desired, to the point where most people would just prefer to suffer the motion controls.

I ain't one of those people. Control is top priority to me nowadays (esp after playing Sekiro) and regardless of whether or not Skyward Sword could work with traditional controls or not doesn't really matter, because they developed it with the idea that motion control would be the future. And it wasn't at all. So the game suffers for it on all fronts.

All that said, if control isn't something that really matters to you one way or the other, then you should at least give SS a shot. From what I've seen it definitely has some interesting and creative moments.

I couldn't get into the Wii version, but I really enjoyed it on the Switch. Not a top tier Zelda, but definitely worth playing.

FWIW I never had any issues with the motion controls at all and thought they worked really well.

Wasn't this 30$ just last week?

tcaz2 posted...

FWIW I never had any issues with the motion controls at all and thought they worked really well.

They work really well for normal Zelda gameplay, but whoever devised the "music" minigame should be crowned the new King of Evil.

LordoftheMorons posted...

I couldn't get into the Wii version, but I really enjoyed it on the Switch. Not a top tier Zelda, but definitely worth playing.

Opposite for me....I honestly still recommend the original Wii version but I know I'm in the minority.

I think everyone here knows I absolutely love Skyward Sword. It's like the antithesis of BotW, but I dig finely crafted, guided, linear Zelda. It contains some of the best dungeons and bosses in the series and easily the best story. It's a love letter to storytelling and mythology itself and I was very satisfied with its setting up the origins of the entire series, as well as the revelations that I won't spoil.

Gameplay-wise, it's funny. It excels in every area BotW fails and fails in every area BotW excels - but it's not going for anything like BotW's open-ended exploration, so it's okay. If you enjoy the dungeons in Zelda, the whole game plays as one massive dungeon, even most of the outer dungeon parts. And personally, I absolutely love that.

My gripe with the Switch version is because of the different motion technology in the joycons, you have to constantly. Readjust. The fucking controls. All the time. Like reading this. Incredibly. Grammatically annoying text.

It just never ends. The Wii version was completely free of this constant annoyance. The Switch version should, far and away, be the definitive version. It runs better at 60 FPS, makes Fi a lot less annoying (an immense improvement that can't be overstated), and looks a lot crisper in 1080p. Yet even after adjusting to it, I could never fully come to terms with this constant annoyance that is completely new to the Switch version.

If you have a smaller TV and a Wii somewhere, I personally suggest the original. But I know others weren't as annoyed with me by the vastly inferior motion controls. Plenty of people said they were "better" when the game first came out, but I can assure they're wrong and their memories were lying to them. I played the original a year before the remake and enjoyed it a lot more.

These are just my personal experiences and thoughts, and I'm sure it's far more convenient to play it on Switch. Even with the botched motion controls, Skyward Sword is worth the experience. Play it one way or another.

_Blur_ posted...

My gripe with the Switch version is because of the different motion technology in the joycons, you have to constantly. Readjust. The fucking controls. All the time. Like reading this. Incredibly. Grammatically annoying text.

It just never ends. The Wii version was completely free of this constant annoyance.

The Wii version was certainly not free of this annoyance, unless you were incredibly lucky.

tcaz2 posted...

FWIW I never had any issues with the motion controls at all and thought they worked really well.

I had frequent issues on the Wii. Had to recalibrate frequently because everything got wonky, and I went through way too many bombs whenever I had to go bowling. They didn't design them the right way, which causes them to mess up. No idea what Blur is talking about.

I have numerous problems with the game and consider it among the worst I've ever played. Take away the Zelda coat of paint and nobody cares for it. Yes, there are some good dungeons. Yes, there are a couple of good characters. But there are just too many problems with the motion controls, Fi being annoying, dowsing, redundant Bozoblin skull cracking, poor pacing that kills momentum as soon as the game gets it, ridiculous padding that makes absolutely zero sense and doesn't reward you, fetch quests galore that don't add any world building or make anyone memorable, a lack of exploration, predictable writing, and the terrible ending. The Switch version can only polish a turd so much. I could rant for hours about how bad it is.

If you like 3D Zelda it's great. It has a super strong Zelda feel that we probably won't ever get again. But your favorites are BotW and LoZ, so I suspect you might not like it at all.

It has everything that TP was missing though (and BotW too). Great level design and cool hub. The controls are really fun and do actually work well, but there's a learning curve. Not sure if the Switch's controls are different but doesn't seem like it. It can be really slow and plodding, so try to rush through it and that should help the pacing.

CassandraCain posted...

I was intrigued when it was announced to release on Switch with an alternative to motion controls... but it wasn't actually a viable alternative apparently. The controls still leave much to be desired, to the point where most people would just prefer to suffer the motion controls.

I played it last year when it came out with a pro controller and had no problems. The only issue is that using a controller makes combat a cake walk. Wiggling an analogue stick is much faster than swinging a remote, so you basically blitz any combat. Getting the Hylian Shield was easy. And a lot of the sections I had heard nightmare stories about (like the harp playing) were no problem.

As for the game itself, it's got a few really cool dungeon mechanics and Groose is a GOAT Zelda character, but it's clear they either had a strict budget or stripped stuff for BotW. There are three main areas and you revisit each area multiple times remixing it each time. But as has been said, it's still a Zelda game, so it's still a good game, it's just on the lower end compared to other Zelda games.

9/10 would not play again

If you have tp on the bottom of the 3d zeldas, but think that was at least worth playing, then Skyward Sword is worth playing. probably will land in the lower middle of your rankings though.

What you should really play are the oracle games!

This is great information, thanks everybody! Full price is last so I will be waiting.

TP is the only 3D LoZ game I didn't finish, and I hear I quit right before the game opened up (I think I was on my third wolf-section...?). I would try the Wii U remaster if it became available for the Switch.

I don't like the controls on Capcom's LoZ-games! I copied for LA but they never feel comfortable to me.

And I'm sorry for the Wii, but the Switch-version is the only one I have on the table for this question.

MacArrowny posted...

The Wii version was certainly not free of this annoyance, unless you were incredibly lucky.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

I had frequent issues on the Wii. Had to recalibrate frequently because everything got wonky, and I went through way too many bombs whenever I had to go bowling. They didn't design them the right way, which causes them to mess up. No idea what Blur is talking about.

These Wii version complaints really shock me and I'm thinking it must have been sensor bar placement. I played through this thing 3 times on Wii, one as recently as a year prior to this coming out, and can absolutely assure you I almost never recalibrated. Don't think I did it once on my most recent playthrough. And even if you did recalibrate frequently, there's absolutely no way you recalibrated every 10 seconds like the Switch version requires when you're constantly using an item. E: I should point out that "recalibrating" on the Switch version is merely recentering and only requires the press of a button.

And no worries, Harrich - you'd be taking a pretty big minority opinion over the consensus on this one if you picked it up on the Wii. There are some swell QoL improvements on Switch! And you did indeed quit TP right before it starts getting great. If you like SS enough and if they ever port TP HD, you'd probably do well picking it up too. It similarly has some of the best dungeons and bosses in the series.

I've played both versions and almost never had to recalibrate either. Both worked near flawlessly, probably under 5 recalibrations per playthrough.

I've also been around on the internet long enough to know there are a lot of complaints about both and a lot of other people saying they had no issues with both, like my experience.

The whole thing just seems to be incredibly personal experience dependent on whether the motion controls behave or not.

Yeah I remember recalibrating often in the Wii. Didn't get the switch version yet, but I remember recalibrating a lot in Mario Galaxy for the switch too.

Switch version bumped it up from worst to second worst 3D Zelda over Twilight Princess.

It's a very tedious and at times incredibly unintuitive, but it's highs are pretty strong. Just not too frequent

The (ground) overworld being dungeons placed in the way of other dungeons was pretty cool, since dungeons were the best part, and had been the only tolerable part in PH/ST.

I haven't played it but the soundtrack is amazing.

Also, for Wii issues - it's very possible that the sensor bar wasn't the issue, but other reflective surfaces in the room in which you played.

There was a time I was playing Wii at home when younger and managed to just point over towards the other corner of the room for pointing sections where one should have pointed towards the sensor bar... fun piece of hardware.

I imagine that motion controls with waggling could have gotten messed up by suddenly receiving input from other directions.

it's good. i bought it for like $43 or something and didn't feel like I paid too much for it

HanOfTheNekos posted...

I haven't played it but the soundtrack is amazing.

Oh yeah, this is absolutely worth mentioning too: it has the best soundtrack in the entire series, which is a momentous achievement considering the competition.

tcaz2 posted...

I've played both versions and almost never had to recalibrate either. Both worked near flawlessly, probably under 5 recalibrations per playthrough.

Okay, you are talking about actual recalibrations on the Switch version and not recentering, right? I'm talking about recentering, which I would genuinely do multiple times a minute if I'm using an item heavily. Like using the item in the third dungeon (name redacted for Harrich), I definitely recentered every 10 seconds or so. Again, recentering is as simple as hitting the Y button, and I'm probably overreacting by fixing it every time it slightly drifts off; it's just that It always stayed perfect in the Wii version and I'm used to it being 1:1 with my controller.

Just couldn't quite get over this constant nuisance no matter how much I tried. Others may not find it a problem at all, but I can't imagine them not having to do it. Every podcast discussion I watched and whatnot all brought it up (but plenty did so without any real negative undertones).

_Blur_ posted...

Okay, you are talking about actual recalibrations on the Switch version and not recentering, right? I'm talking about recentering, which I would genuinely do multiple times a minute if I'm using an item heavily. Like using the item in the third dungeon (name redacted for Harrich), I definitely recentered every 10 seconds or so. Again, recentering is as simple as hitting the Y button, and I'm probably overreacting by fixing it every time it slightly drifts off; it's just that It always stayed perfect in the Wii version and I'm used to it being 1:1 with my controller.

Just couldn't quite get over this constant nuisance no matter how much I tried. Others may not find it a problem at all, but I can't imagine them not having to do it. Every podcast discussion I watched and whatnot all brought it up (but plenty did so without any real negative undertones).

Recentering, yeah, sorry.

Never had to recalibrate.

This is great information, thank you. I'm gonna replay LttP and see if holiday sales kick in around the time I finish.

Also great to hear about the music. As much as I like BotW and even it's music, there were multiple selections that didn't really feel like it fit the series I knew...which is fine enough I guess, but I do like to hear such praise for SS's soundtrack too.

I recentered constantly on Wii motion+. I don't think it's necessary really, but it makes aiming way nicer, and it become intuitive pretty quickly. Like using a mouse in 3D. Nintendo's the only one who figured that out and I wish more games used it.