I'm playing Zelda: Skyward Sword. I've resisted up to now because the game needs a new hardware gadget, the Wii Motion Plus. Together, they run $70-$90 retail (depending on whether you get just the adapter, or a whole new remote with the functionality built in). But I found a deal on Amazon where I was able to get both together for around $56, and I jumped on it. It seemed perfect to keep the Zelda ball rolling, and finally get to play the one real game in the series that I've missed.
It's a mixed bag. First, the negatives. Wii motion controls. Yeah, OK, you can do some cool things with the sword now. Not quite 1-1 motion, but it's close. Swing at different angles, even thrust forward for stab--cool. But that still saddles you with the very poorly laid out Wiimote/nunchuk functions. I want a gamepad so bad for this thing, and screw the swordplay. It was fine the way it was in WW and (GC) TP. Even more annoyingly, they're using the Motion Plus for everything, including screen pointing. This just blows. It's much less sensitive than the excellent standard functionality the Wii has always had, and it's relative. So you need a greater range of motion to cover the screen, and it doesn't seem as solid. And if you're pointing in the wrong direction when you press a pointer-related button, it tries to be nice to you and recenter, which means you're now way off. All you have to do to correct it is aim at the center and press a button, but this shouldn't even be necessary. It should only recenter if I so choose.
Also, incomprehensibly, the new gadget wants to recalibrate itself every time it comes back from a sleeping state. So if I take a bathroom break, when I get back I have to press a button, lay the thing flat on the table for a few seconds, point at the screen center and click. Every damn time. Stupid beyond belief.
So the first few hours were spent getting used to the odd controls. They work fairly well once that happens, and I was able to get into the game, which seems very worthwhile. If you've played the other 3D Zeldas, you know what to expect. Little has changed as far as the philosophy and overall design. Some past obtuseness has returned, unfortunately--the use of statues to save, rather than saving at any time (which WW and TP allow). But so far, this hasn't been a problem. There are plenty of them around. The world is huge, and the flying mechanic brings a smile to my face. That's despite the disappointing loading break whenever you transition from pedestrian to avian, or back again. It seems the world data changes completely from one form to another.
That brings to mind the general tech limitations. They really show! It's sad that Wind Waker looks better to me than a much newer game designed for this system, rather than a past one. I think the biggest reason is that they're both the same resolution, but SS spreads out those pixels to fill the 16:9 screen, while WW keeps them closer together in a 4:3 window. SS tries to combine the cheerful colors of WW with the more realistic style of TP, and largely succeeds. But the old tech just hurts. Blur and artifacts abound. Pity.
Despite all the baggage, it's still an exciting and compelling world. Skyloft has a lot to see and do, and that's just the starting hub. You can move easily between the sky world and the land below, giving it all a very open feeling. Combat is satisfying and more challenging than usual (not just because of the unfamiliar controls, I think). The most advanced enemies I've met so far will block at different angles, and you need to swing the sword accordingly to get around their defenses. I have yet to enter my very first temple/dungeon, though. That comes next. I quit last night right outside of it. More to come.
