#it still fun as shit but ss really felt accessible to the entire fan base

[applecherry108]

so i made the mistake of looking into something for botw only to trip over a lot of people giving skyward sword shit. so like,

i then did research, about why people hate ss so much, and a lot of the time it’s the exact reasons i love it. but i will also admit that i didn’t have the same experience with the wii as a lot of ppl.

for starters, yeah the wii was pretty old when ss came out, and sure i’d played mario kart or whatever with my friends but i never OWNED a wii, UNTIL ss. i literally bought a wii (refurbished, $80, it was a good deal) specifically to play ss. and i love the art style. so much. i love how colorful it is, the vastly varying designs for the regions, THE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. i love that it was stylized. i loved that i had multiple characters i was emotionally invested in, that, sure, zelda wasn’t on screen doing things a lot, but she was such a presence in ss. literally the first two dungeons you’re just scrambling to catch up with her only to find out she’s been training her ass off. no she doesn’t hack and slash the bad guys, but i really appreciated what an active role she had in the story. how her sacrifice actually felt monumental as opposed to her role in other games. fuck man, i was devastated when she was crystallized. i literally sat there sobbing my ass off for a good five minutes when that happened.

the biggest thing i like about it tho, that seems to be everyone else’s biggest complaint, was how linear it is. and yeah there’s a few times i wished i had an area to just explore but i LOVED that i always knew where the fuck i was supposed to be. it added urgency to the story. and also?? i have no idea how many hours i’ve poured into botw already (too many. defintiely at least 20-30, idk, i can’t find my playtime), and i only JUST got around my first dungeon. like i walked into that elephant with 10 hearts, a wheel and a half of stamina, and the hyrule map in my pocket. i’ve been mostly dicking around doing portal shrine puzzles. i don’t really give a shit about the main quest. i am far more interested in buying my house, making sure my horse doesn’t die, and upgrading the shit out of my clothes. i get that people wanted more freedom than what ss gave them but man, botw is just...too much. you can’t hand a girl with ADD botw and tell her to do the main quest, it’s just not gonna happen. i felt like i had purpose and an extremely clear path in ss.

and also???? the DUNGEONS were so GOOD. ya’ll can complain all you want about “ohh ss was too long” or what the fuck ever, but the dungeons were top fucking knotch, probably my absolute favorites in any tloz game. and also, even tho it was stylized, i was genuinely scared/panicked by some of that shit. a horde of zombie bokolins coming after me as i climbed for my life?? terrifying. falling short of those damn teardrops and sprinting for your life away from spirit guardians? FUCKED ME UP.

AND SPEAKING OF SPRINTING. that is?? my FAVORITE??? new tloz mechanic ever??? i can fucking run up walls, it was magical! yes botw took it a step further and my new hobby is scaling mountains bc why the fuck no??t (answer: bs there’s probably a goddamn korok up there) but i have to give all my love to ss for even giving me that mechanic in the first place. it is also my go-to way of describing spoon theory to people bc tbh my stamina meter makes more sense to me as a way to quantify energy than spoons do.

things i didn’t like? wee A) i did like the motion controls but b) i couldn’t never get my damn shield to work. sword controls: yes. shield controls: no. the "songs” you learn and the harp itself were shit and totally unmemorable (harp controls: also shit). and yes, it’s annoying how you “tempered” the goddess sword, but despite the how it was fuckin kickass to actually craft the sword. sure maybe the game does go on a little too long, but right before i got botw i was doing my THIRD playthrough of ss, and tbh i only start losing interest about when you have to find the last two dragons. the swimming music note thing was eh, the lanayru dungeon was fun, and the fucking ELDIN TAKING MY SHIT. I HATED THAT. I MEAN IT WAS GREAT AND CHALLENGIING BUT I WAS SO PISSED THEY TOOK MY STUFF. and it would’ve been great if we didn’t have to fight the sealed demise so many times. two. two would have been enough.

also i love my bird.

the dragons are some of the worst dragons i’ve ever seen.

pro of botw: i stumbled upon farosh by accident and my god the botw dragons are MAGNIFICENT.

did i mention the ss dungeons? because SERIOUSLY. like i said, i finally did one of the botw dungeons and it was..... stupid. yes, i was probably vastly op for it, but like. it was a single short puzzle, and then there’s a boss. whom i got so bored of fighting i bomb-arrowed it to death. and honestly if i can just bomb arrow something to death all willy-nilly, odds are i am disappointed with it. bc i distinctly remember being able to just bomb the fuck out of enemies in tp and tp is lowest on my list of tloz games.

also, items. god i LOVE the items you get in ss. ANOTHER GREAT MECHANIC INTRODUCED IN THAT GAME: SHOOTING ARROWS THROUGH GRATES. GOD HOW I LONGED TO DO THAT IN OOT. versus botw and oh your bow broke. oh you shield broke. oh your melee weapon broke. and if there’s a weapons/repair shop somewhere i haven’t found it yet. it’s one of those ~realistic~ aspects that make botw not feel like a tloz game to me. and GOD what i wouldn’t do for some CLAWSHOTS. OR AT LEAST A HOOKSHOT P L  E A S E .

it also comes down to enjoyability too. like sure, the aperture science sheikah shrine puzzles are fun and when i figure a stumper out i feel smart, but this isn’t portal 3. it’s a zelda game. and also? i never want to fucking do any of this again. ever. it’s so goddamn tedious. it will be years and and fucking YEARS before i ever start another playthrough of botw, simply bc it’s too much and just too fucking big. and i’ve already mentioned i’m on my third play of ss. it’s long, but when you’re going so linearly it doesn’t feel overwhelming, it’s just one task after another, and as someone who gets overwhelmed when too many things demand my attention at once, well god dammit if ss isn’t the perfect focus-based  distraction.

#i am having fun with botw but i still need to vent #ss is one of the most fun games i've ever played and it is FUN #i don't like it when people say it 'treats u like a child' bc newsflash: #it's a game meant for children. #it still fun as shit but ss really felt accessible to the entire fan base #Apple talks #to the tune of spam