Saturday, December 8, 2012

Twilight Princess Vs. Skyward Sword

Someone mentioned how the Zelda games appear to be getting easier and easier. That led my mind down this track. Which is better: Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword? They're both fairly easy, provided you're accustomed to the core mechanics of how to play Zelda. I'd say Skyward Sword is significantly harder in terms of combat, but both games hold your hand the entire way through. To TP's credit, Midna's character does make that handholding a little more bearable.

Twilight Princess: Pros and Cons

Pros:

1) Standard Zelda Quest: The storyline and world of Twilight Princess fits right in with what you'd expect from a Zelda game. It's Hyrule, you are Link, and evil monsters are giving everyone a hard time. Some evil wizard seems to be causing these afflictions, but in the end, you learn that Ganon is really the cause of everything.

2) Simpler Control Scheme: Some mind find faults with the swordplay, but Wiimote IR aiming is pretty sweet. You don't need to recalibrate it, or worry that a change in sitting position might affect your shot.

3) Great Graphics: At the time of release, Twilight Princess' graphics were great. That's what we (or at least I) have been wanting since playing ALttP as a youngster. It makes Zelda look more hardcore than the lackluster quest actually was.

4) "Epic" Moments: Link is not a youngster trying to attain knighthood in Twilight Princess. He's a Legendary Hero that's been waiting for an opportunity to shine. No one else can save Hyrule, as only those Hyruleans with a piece of the Triforce can enter the Twilight. The people are all counting on him. Colin actually builds up Link's level of heroism at times, and even gives Link opportunities to look more legendary than he did before (i.e. When King Bulbin captures him). Link also engages in various sword battles against enemies which look quite intimidating.The darknut battles are some of the finest moments in Zelda, and the Ganondorf fight is pretty good too.

5) One of the Best Guides: Midna is right up there with Tetra and the King of the Red Lions from TWW. Fi is, in fact, a major step down from any Zelda guide -- even Navi!

Cons

1) Tear Drops. Oh Goddesses, the Tear Drops!: Before each of the first three dungeons, you have to collect these Tears of Light to revive the spirits of each Province of Hyrule. It is boring, and it takes forever. Why thought it back in SS, I have no idea.

2) A to Z Quest: Most of the games do have obligatory prescribed dungeon orders, so it's not a major fault. My main beef is with Midna telling me I can't leave the Twilight! That's an artificial barrier, and it sucks.

3) Handholding/Predictability: Maybe it's because I and most other players that find fault with TP have played too many Zelda games. I don't know. But actually figuring out what to do in TP was just too easy. The sidequest may appear unrelated to the main quest, but with Zelda logic in tow, you know that this is going to open up the way to another dungeon.

4) Easiness: Twilight Princess was a cakewalk, in terms of both combat and puzzles.

Skyward Sword: Pros and Cons

Pros:

1) Nice Swordplay: I liked the way the sword worked in this game. The actual swordplay wasn't 1:1, but the non-strike movement was. I imagine it became apparent that a more fun game could be produced if Link strikes in basic directions.

2) Some Fresh Music: Much of SS was orchestrated, in fact. I'm all about the Faron Woods theme! It kind of reminds me of the intro to Fires At Midnight by Blackmore's Night (the first few seconds, but nothing else. ;) ).

3) Reuse of Items: If TP's cons were any indication, I don't like SS' linearity. However, at least SS made good use of the linear path. In the later dungeons, the earlier items are necessary. In the last dungeon, every item is needed, if I'm not mistaken. It's a pretty cool idea.

4) Fleshed Out Characters: Characters not at all related to the main quest have their lives fleshed out. With the exception of Majora's Mask, I can't think of another game where this has occurred.

5) Some Great Bosses: The boss of the Ancient Cistern was pretty hardcore. On Hero Mode, I hard some serious problems keeping up with him. Demise wasn't as cool as Ganon, although he sort of was Ganon... I guess. I suppose the fanon is still out on that. Anyway, I was getting to the fact that the cinematics of the battle with Demise were flat out awesome.

6) Excellent Dungeons: Nice graphics, interesting puzzles, some good enemies. I'm a fan of the Stalfos Knights, and it's good to see them back for another game. Their SS form was good. Not as good as OoT's in terms of look, but the swordplay was right up there with the N64 controller.

Cons:

1) Fi: FI FI FI. Worst Con Ever. I've rambled about it before and I'm not doing it again.

2) Linear Path: Not as bad as TP's due to item reuse, but still. I don't like how the world is actually unavailable. There's not even the hope of being able to get to Lanayru before Faron. :(

3) The Sky: It takes forever to get anywhere in the sky. There's no warp system to get around up there either. They should have added in Sky-Rolling on button A.

4) A premise different from other Zeldas, but not a very good one: The Wind Waker was different from other Zelda games, but still very cool. If you can't go on a swordwielding medieval journey through a fantasy world, can't you at least be a pirate? Being a skyman is not something that I'd really like to do. :P

I would say that despite its many problems, Skyward Sword is a better game than Twilight Princess. It makes the same mistakes, but improves upon those mistakes in many areas. But that's just my opinion.

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