This seems like an appropriate place to start.
So The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword comes out in the States in a while. I've been looking forward to this game for quite some time now and I'm interested in seeing how it turns out. I've been a huge fan of the Zelda series ever since I first played Twilight Princess--yes, TP was my first Zelda game. Bite me. However, there was something about that game that just didn't grab me. Oh, yeah, it was enough to keep me playing the games, but it didn't really feel like a Nintendo title.
Does that make sense?
What I mean is, when I think "Nintendo" I think of all manner of surreal, trippy and incredibly Japanese series. Twilight Princess just didn't have that sort of wacky appeal I've come to expect from Nintendo. Something about its atmosphere seemed kind of generic to me. It didn't have enough charm or stylization. In 2006, I happened to buy Wind Waker together with Twilight Princess. I could tell they were vastly different games just by looking at them; while Twilight Princess had this brooding, somber atmosphere that was apparent in its very art style, Wind Waker was bright and vibrant. A Nintendo game if you ever saw one.
Then it came time to play. When I first popped Wing Waker in, I was immediately grabbed by it in a way that I wasn't when I played Twilight Princess. I could tell the game would have this lasting feeling of adventure, which appealed to me much more than the vibes Twilight Princess gave off. Yet the game was often criticized for its "childish" art direction. Apparently, only children like cartoons. The art direction was one of my favorite things about the game, though; it didn't shy away from having dark content, and the vibrant art style helped make those moments stand out.
OK, but back on topic. Skyward Sword. This game has been receiving a lot of the same complaints from a few people. Like Wind Waker, it features a very brightly colored art style. It seems like its look was in part due to complaints that Twilight Princess wasn't colorful enough--a complaint I happen to agree with, but I digress. I think it's looking to be a beautiful game so far, and I don't just mean visually. From what we've seen, Skyward Sword incorporates a wide variety of content that's never been seen before in any Zelda title. The dowsing feature is really cool, as is the ability to upgrade items. Personally, what I'm looking forward to the most is exploring the overworld. Although Hyrule will be divided into multiple chunks instead of being one big, connected space, it seems like each region is massive all on its own. Plus we have a series of floating islands in the sky to visit. Hopefully some of them will have their own mini-dungeons. Basically, this means Skyward Sword's going to be having multiple overworlds, in a sense, and that's something that has me practically drooling in anticipation.
Another thing I'm excited to see is the role of Zelda herself. I'm not sure how popular this opinion is, but I think Zelda is one of the most interesting characters in the entire series. She's always been my personal favorite, and one of the things I disliked about Twilight Princess was that she had a very small role. She appeared in three scenes and there wasn't really much to her. One of the things that draws me to Zelda is that she started out as a blatant expy of Princess Peach, but over time, she grew into an entirely different entity. I'm always eager to see where each new game takes her. Spirit Tracks is one of my favorite Zelda titles, and is notable for being the first time Zelda herself was actually playable. And she took such a great, active role in the story, to boot. I think some of the Spirit Tracks staff are working on Skyward Sword, so I hope that means Zelda will have a large presence in the story.
Also, she sings in the intro. That is just cute.
Oh, and Link. He wasn't very expressive in Twilight Princess, where he had about two or three facial expressions. Pretty weird considering how animated he was in Wind Waker. One of my concerns with this game early one was that, since Link's model resembles the one in Twilight Princess, he would be just as dull. But, recent cutscenes quickly set me straight. The character animations in this game bring everyone, even Link, to life. This is surely the most cinematic Zelda to date. I've seen people make comparisons to Pixar, and I think they're pretty much spot-on.
The game is gorgeous and I can't wait to play it. Luckily a friend was kind enough to order me a copy, so all I've gotta do now is wait.
It's the wait that's killing me.
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