Skyward Sword vs. Twilight Princess: Combat Gameplay

This is definitely more of a technical review than a story-wise review. When I first picked up the Wii-Mote to play as Link, the controls felt very natural. Move the Wii-Mote, slash the sword. Time your nunchuck thrusts right, Link bashes his shield. It was easy.

And then Skyward Sword happened.

Wii-Motion Plus is required for this game. Rather than hack-n-slash as before, now you had to angle your Wii-Mote to not get blocked by the attack. Worse, the controls wouldn't work the way you wanted them too sometimes. Usually, I'd just end up slashing wildly until one attack worked and I killed the baddy in my way.

Now that's just the everyday mooks you're cutting down in a dungeon. What about Bosses and Mini-Bosses?

For Twilight Princess, it's pretty obvious. Almost every boss has a giant "HIT ME RIGHT HERE" spot and you use the new item you got in the dungeon to take it down. Even the mini-bosses have this. While some of them are a bit more challenging than others, it becomes pretty obvious what you have to do.

Skyward Sword on the other hand...

The first Boss you face is Ghirahim, the main villain of the game. Yeah, and you're still figuring out how the motion controls work. Talk about hard. Even the first Mini-Boss is hard. It's a four-armed skeleton that, while having epic music, cuts you to pieces before you can even get a strike in. Some bosses have this "HIT ME RIGHT HERE" spot, but I feel like the designers were trying to move away from that.

At any rate, while there were some fun moments with the Wii-Motion plus controls, I never felt like I had changed as Swordsman. I was still taking stupid hits because the controls didn't follow my movements. Twilight Princess was easier because I didn't have to think as much. Even if I was freaking out, I could still slash my way through the guy and go off to save the world. Skyward Sword didn't allow me that luxury. Freaking out = getting hurt for no good reason.

Twilight Princess wins this round since I felt it was a little easier to do things. Skyward Sword had good potential, and if we can ever get motion controls super precise, that would be a fun remake to do again.

Twilight Princess: 3
Skyward Sword: 3

And We're Back!

Hey guys! I'm back from the land of NaNoWriMo. I got it done on the 30th, and I'm super proud of myself for pushing myself through the boring parts, and for sticking with it.

I wrote a book in a month. That's pretty awesome, you have to admit.

Anyways, now that I'm back, I'll hopefully be posting more regularly, as well as getting Roxanne's blog off the ground and finishing up her current story and then starting over again.

It's good to be back.

Skyward Sword vs. Twilight Princess: Plot & Story

The stories of Zelda weren't much beyond, "Quest, get item, kill boss, lather, rinse, repeat" until you killed Ganon. But as the games improved so did the stories. Ocarina of Time has one of the best ratings of all time because of the story it told, and the implications of said story.

So how do the stories of Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess measure up? Let's find out.

Oh yeah, SPOILERS AHOY.

A quick side note: The story is the chronological events while the plot is logical structure that connects the events together. We're going to be looking at both here.

The story of Skyward Sword I've summed up a few times in the previous posts, so I'll just talk about what I liked and didn't like. The first half of the story and plot are all dependent on you following and finding Zelda. You get close to doing so, but then Ghirahim shows up and ruins everything. After the first Gate of Time is destroyed, you quest to find the second one. Which then turns into the power up the sword quest/don't let the Imprisoned win. And THEN after that it becomes the "Wait, you can't have the final boss just yet, let's throw in one more Silent Realm just to mess you up," Song of the Hero quest.

So, all in all, the Plot isn't super great. Each dungeon, while giving you something you need/want to progress, doesn't feel like it's furthering the story. It's just...there. I mean, they wait until the second to last real dungeon, to give you your freakin' bow. Do you have ANY idea how useful that would have been earlier?!

As for the story: The game is pretty good at keeping you involved in the story. I remember I hated taking breaks because I wanted to know what happened next. But there were parts where I was like, "Okay, what's with the dig around to find the next dungeon? Can't I just get there already? There's a story to be told here!"

Twilight Princess's story was a bit longer, mostly because there were more dungeons and more places to go and discover, but there also was good pacing. If you just sat down and followed the plot, no sidequests or anything, you'd find that there's never a dull moment. You're busy going to the next plot point. Find the next Fused Shadow, find the Twilit Bugs, Find the Master Sword, Find the mirror, etc. The game does a good job getting you from point A to B that isn't boring or contrived. And each area you go to has secrets to explore later on when you want to do the sidequests.

The Plot is much better as well. As mentioned above, the transitions from point A to point B don't feel too contrived, though, in the early game, you can't get anywhere because of various reasons. You can tell you can go other places, but the game doesn't want you there just yet. But you don't care too much because you've got such a big area to explore the first time. I'll never forget crossing Hyrule Field for the first time. A random thunderstorm rolled in over the Eldin Province, sort of foreshadowing what was coming. And while it freaked me out a little, I knew it was epic.

Anyways, Twilight Princess's Story may not have as big an impact on the Zelda francise as Skyward Sword (SS being the first chronologically), but the story is a better one, and a more enjoyable one. So Story and Plot goes to Twilight Princess!

Skyward Sword: 3
Twilight Princess: 2

Skyward Sword vs. Twilight Princess: Supporting Cast

And we're back! Sorry I've been away for so long. My brain is full of too many stories and I can't keep up with all of them at once. Anyway, let's return to Hyrule and compare two stories to each other.

The supporting cast in any game is crucial to how the plot progresses. After all, you have to know the people you're saving in order to care about saving the world. The supporting cast is crucial in the Zelda series.

Twilight Princess's cast is quite large, though you'll easily pick out familiar faces as the game progresses. Among these are the crew from Ordon village. You spend much of the game tracking all of them down, and then restoring Ilia's memory (which I have to admit didn't make all that much sense to me. Sorry, I don't like Ilia). But once you've rescued them all, they sort of drop out of the plot. The next main group would be the Resistance group that meets in Telma's Bar. The group members help you along your way after you retrieve the Master Sword, warning you about the dangers the next area will possess. They also show up to give Link a hand in Hyrule Castle. And I loved the fact that they showed up. It proved that these guys really meant what they said about trying to save Hyrule from a force that they didn't fully understand. I wish there were more guys like them showing up in the final battle.

Skyward Sword's cast is much smaller, which gives you a more intimate feel with everyone. One of the main side-quests to gather gratitude crystals is based on you knowing everyone in town. The main secondary character you'll encounter is Groose, who is in it for himself and for Zelda. But once he gets it through his skull that he's not the Hero chosen by the Goddess, he stops feeling sorry and starts becoming industrious, hinting at the future society that the people of Skyloft will one day build below. There's also Fledge, a shy boy who eventually works his way out of his shell (thanks to you and your hard earned rupees. I dont' like Fledge either...).

So which cast is better? Personally, I liked the big grand scope of Twilight Princess, but also the small intimate feeling of Skyward Sword as well. Once you returned to Skyloft for the first time after being below the clouds, you realize how small your world actually is compared to Hyrule below.

And the cast of Skyward Sword was a bit more helpful than Twilight Princess. Ilia is the biggest offender to why I don't like the Twilight Princess cast as much as I do Skyward Sword. She steals your horse, makes you feel bad for her for most of the game until you restore her memory, and I really don't like her at all. Fledge is the offender for Skyward Sword. He mooches off you and your rupees to get Stamina potions so he can do more push-ups. Yet he then ends up running a mini-game where he pays you fifty rupees usually. Where's THAT money coming from, eh, Fledge?

Anyways, Skyward Sword's supporting cast is a lot more helpful. Everyone knows who you are after a while, and they all want to help you on you quest to save Zelda. Everyone cheers you on in one way or another, while in Twilight Princess, some characters are unaware of what's going on throughout the whole game. Twilight Princess is a bigger game, so it's harder to know so many people, but there comes a point where you have to say, "I can't help you if you're being so stupid to not see that something is seriously wrong with Hyrule!"

So my vote for best supporting cast goes to Skyward Sword. Twilight Princess will be making a comeback soon. I can feel it.

Skyward Sword: 3
Twilight Princess: 1

SORRY ABOUT BEING A HORRIBLE BLOGGER!

Okay, I apologize. I have been a horrible blogger. My groove was thrown off and I haven't got back into it.
Also, I'm smack dab in the middle of NaNoWriMo, so my energy has been drained and focused on that. I haven't written anything I want to share on the internet yet (boring background exposition), so no excerpts yet.
I'm planning on giving Roxanne her own blog so you don't have to dig through a bunch of posts just to find it. Then you can also read Roxanne's story in a nice single read. :)

Sorry guys. I'll get better at this blogging thing.

Chapter 4: Age Difference

Sorry for the delay! We'll resumed our regularly green-haired baby broadcast now.

Roxanne begins training the triplets in the fine art of walking. Bertram is the experiment child, but he seems to at least grasp the basic concept of standing up.

Bianca prefers to romp inside the toy box.

"Soon..."

 

Despite the triplets being a handful, Roxanne is lucky to have kids like Alexa and Andrew to help out.

 





Awww, sisterly love.

 

Life at the Gregory household is pretty crazy...

 

 

But it's still a good life.

 

"And coming up on the inside is Bertram. He's a bit behind Beckham but that's not stopping either of them!"

 

Max bonds with his little brothers and sister. While he can't understand their babbling, he does understand the joy of building with blocks.



 

 

A few days later, Roxanne decides to take everyone to the park.

 

Babies...babies everywhere.

 

Andrew is feeling  rather contemplative right now. He's going to become and adult later tonight. While he's not growing up alone, he definitely has a lot to think about.

 



 

At long last, the oldest children of the Gregory clan become young adults.

 



 

Excitement, anxiety, worry, joy, and a whole other host of emotions fill this day for Andrew and Alexa.

 

And here's Andrew, all grown up. Aaand I forgot to get Alexa's grown up shot. I'm sorry...I get better as I go on. Besides, the oldest children are always the experiment children.

 

Roxanne congratulates her oldest. She can't believe he's all grown up already.

 



This is the best you're gonna get of an adult shot of Alexa. But this is also the children's picture frame. When each child reaches their young adult stage, their picture will be placed here, so there's always a reminder of the ones that have been here.

Let the potty training games begin!

"Dude! Andrew! Get out!"

"I will get you yet, laundry."

 

And Beckham is showing us the ancient art of block yoga, while also showing us the power of standing IN the block table.

 



 



 I'm sorry (not really) about all these dumb super cutesy family moments. I just love it all.

 

 

Time for some more birthdays! Today it' s Max's birthday. The triplets could care less, but at least Mom and Andrew are here to celebrate.

Don't you just love how jazzed he is to grow up?

I--erm--hello there, rather attractive young man.

 

Now that Max is all grown up (mostly) Andrew and Alexa sit down to have some serious discussions about their future.

 

 "Think we should tell Mom?"

"Yeah, it's time."

 

 Roxanne comes downstairs and meets Andrew and Alexa at the breakfast table.

"Mom, we've been thinking, and we're ready to move out. Max'll be here to help you with the triplets and we'll still be in Riverview, but we're ready for our next step in life."

She suspected, but it doesn't make it any easier when Roxanne has to say good-bye to her oldest.

"Bye, Andrew. I can't believe this day is here. I knew it was coming, but I can't believe you two are all grown up."

 

 "Mom, don't worry. We won't be more than five minutes away. Ten tops."

 

"Bye, Mom."

"Bye, sweetheart."

 

With that, Andrew and Alexa bid good-bye to their younger siblings.

 

"Bye, bro."

"Dude, does this mean I can have your cologne? It smells way good."

"Shut up, Max."

"Bye, Max. Be good for Mom, okay?"

"Yeesh, what are you? My other mom?"

 

Awww, so cute.

"Gonna miss you, little guy."

"Don't cry, don't cry, whatever you do, Alexa, don't cry..."

 

"I'm gonna miss you the most..."



 

With all the good-byes out of the way, Andrew and Alexa leave the house and move into their own...

 

...with a really ugly van.

...I didn't do anything. That van came with the house they bought.

 

And that concludes chapter four! Yay!

 

Looking back at all these pictures makes me so sad. All these Sims are gone now...





Well crap

So I get ready to play the Sims only to discover that, after the updates, everything is gone. Which makes me super sad to say that the 100 baby challenge has gotten cut short, which makes it worse because I had a SUPER EPIC ending for it all planned out.

So, I guess I could start again, but it wouldn't be the same. So right now, I'm kind of in mourning. I was about 30% done with the adventure. I feel bad I didn't get the most current screenshots from the file because...well, now it's all gone.

Well, you know what you do when your game gets deleted...MAKE MORE SIMS!

Edit: I will continue to update the 100 baby challenge until I reach the end of all my photos. Which makes me REALLY ticked off because I had a bunch but I didn't save them! So a good chunk of the kids you won't see here. *sigh* Life goes on.

by the way, did I mention I recreated Roxanne as a kid? Yep, Roxanne will be back!

Skyward Sword vs Twilight Princess: In-Game Partner

If we had to pick the WORST in-game partner of all time, that honor would go to Navi, the little fairy who'd annoy everyone with her "HEY LISTEN!" and "WATCH OUT!" whenever anything bad would happen.

But Navi's not up for the running here. The ones who are is a little imp, and the spirit of the Master Sword.

I've been starting with Twilight Princess a lot, so this time, let's start with Skyward Sword.

Fi is the spirit of the Goddess Sword, left by Hylia for her chosen hero long ago. She first appears to Link in a sort of vision when Zelda gets taken by an unnatural tornado. Later that night, Link follows her to the Goddess Statue where the Goddess Sword lays inside. Upon taking the sword, Link cements himself as the Goddesses Chosen Hero, and he's off to find and rescue Zelda.

Throughout his journey, Fi provides information about enemies and locations, providing stats about enemies you've defeated and occasional snarky comments. She also absorbs the three Goddess Flames in order to strengthen the Goddess Sword until it becomes the Master Sword. HOLY MACKERAL BIG SPOILERS! Fi falls into a permanent sleep after defeating Demise, her mission now over.

Despite having all this knowledge about enemies, Fi refuses to disclose all of it until an enemy has defeated you. Apparently, she doesn't realize that the enemy at hand is killing you, and advice regarding its defeat would be MOST APPRECIATED!

Fi's presence also confuses me. Does everyone else see her? Or does just Link see her? The game never really made that clear to me. Because Fi will react to a piece of information, but no one reacts to a freakin' girl materializing out of a sword hilt! I mean, come on.

Fi's personality just irritates me as well. While she's not annoying like Navi, she remains stiff and formal all the time. And while her parting lines are tear-jerking, they're nowhere near as powerful as Midna's final lines, or even other character final lines! She may say the data she's collected is the most precious on record, but she's never going to awaken again and know if any of the other Links are just as good or better of a master than the first one. Alternatley, you could take it as the first Link will always be her master...but I'm getting into too much speculation.

Midna's turn!

Midna is a funny little imp that you meet right after you transform into a wolf for the first time. She mocks your condition and then fails to properly remove a manacle from your leg, and then she abandons you for a time in the dungeons while the creepy Twilit Rats are chasing you! And then she basically recruits you to be her slave to get her Fused Shadows for her because she's too lazy to navigate the dungeons herself.

And then Zant happens. Rather than joining with a fellow Twili, she refuses to join him and to punish her for her "disloyalty" he summons Lanayru and blasts Midna with the light.

Link rescues Midna via Princess Zelda, and from then on, Midna is a different person. She's still snarky, but you feel less used and more like you're actually working together.

In the end, it turns out Midna is the Twilight Princess the game is named for, and it turns out Zant is the reason Midna's stuck as an imp. Midna turns back into her regular form, and then, just as she's heading back to the Twilight Realm, she breaks the Mirror of Twilight so that nothing bad can happen in Hyrule again.

Holy Crap Midna is awesome. The minute she enters the game she just steals the show. Midna also has an active role in the story. Not only is she your guide, but she teleports you around Hyrule. And seriously, that makes the game so much easier when you can just teleport to a location instead of having to walk/ride your horse there. Midna also has serious character development, and it makes her one of the greatest characters in gaming I've ever encountered. She goes from helping only herself and only worrying about herself and her kingdom, to worrying about the well-being of others and those in Hyrule.

When she shatters the Mirror, I always felt like she was saying, "No matter what troubles may come, I know it won't come from my world. What happened her will not happen again."

Really, Midna felt more like an actual person than Fi ever did. Fi always felt like a tool, which, I kind of get she was, but she could have had a lot more characterization, and it just bothered me how, really, Fi wasn't super helpful. Honestly, after coming fresh off of Midna, I felt like Fi just...sucked.

All in game partners need to be held to the standard of characterization that Midna had. Especially if at the end of the game they leave you. That needs to be a super sad moment.

So the Twilight Princess wins this round.

Skyward Sword: 2
Twilight Princess: 1

Chapter 3: Terrible Three's

Her youth permanently assured for as long as she likes, Roxanne wastes no time in schmoozing her maid (yeah, she doesn't care like that)

 

We'll leave them be for now...

 



 

 

Oh, okay...Roxanne is wondering if she should start to see a doctor about the baby chimes she keeps hearing. It's starting to disturb her a little...

 

Anyways, deciding that it's time to get back to parenting, she starts to teach Max how to walk.

 

 

By the time night falls, Max has this walking thing figured out.

 

And Roxie's starting to have a familiar but unpleasant sensation...

 

You're supposed to go in the toilet, not through it! Also, why'd you go to the boys' room? Yours is right there!

 

Roxanne screwy logic aside, it's time for some birthdays! YAY! Andrew and Alexa are about to enter the world of hormones and Roxanne is bracing herself for the worst. Max on the other hand, is just content to sit in his high chair.

 

I find it funny our new maid is more enthusiastic than anyone in the family.

 

Have you ever heard of Murphy's Law? You know, the "anything that can go wrong will go wrong?" Yeah...it happens.

Apparently Roxanne ordered the especially flammable flavor.

 

Typical of boys and his soon to be teen status, Andrew doesn't mind the flames in the background. He thinks it's cool.



Such a boy...

 

Max, on the other hand, is totally oblivious that he could have potentially been an orphan and he's content to sit in his super gross high chair. Maid lady! Clean it!

 

The flames die down, and amid the chaos, Andrew ages up.

 

Roxanne is kind of freaking out now that her little boy is now...a big boy.

 

Alexa's cake goes much better than her brother's.



 

I won't say much about her fashion sense, but Alexa's quite the lady now.

Actually, she doesn't look half bad for randomly generated clothes.

 

 This next part is one of my favorite moments ever. After finishing his cake, Andrew picks up his little brother and plays with him...





 

And then goes and cleans his messy high chair. I didn't tell him to do any of this. Andrew did it of his own free will.

 

 

 

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! Not only is it the twins' birthday, it's Max's as well! PARTY IN THE HOW-SE!

I think Roxanne had to make a quick bathroom break between kids. You know how morning sickness is...

 

So here's some snapshots of the kids all grow'd up!

 

Alexa

I think she was blinking here. But she also has very narrow eyes.

 

Andrew

Also, I'm apologizing in advance because, you're gonna see this hairstyle a lot. I don't have many expansions. My poor computer can't handle it. One day it might...

 

Max

Seriously, I think he's one of the most attractive children Roxanne has had. (wait until he grows up! ;)

 

Hey guess what happened while everyone was posing for the creator's picture-fest?!

 

If you guessed rampaging llamas, you're right! Oh wait, never mind...

 

You guessed it! Roxanne is expecting once again! (And if you didn't, what are you doing here? This is a hundred baby challenge after all...)

 

Now that the kids are older, Roxanne feels a lot more comfortable telling her oldest two she's expecting again.

 

She thinks her oldest daughter is an excellent first choice.

 

"Alexa, I'm pregnant!"

"Oh! So that's why you're wearing the ugly sheep nightgown."

"...Shut up, it's the only thing that fits."



 

While that didn't go over as smoothly as she would have liked, Roxanne decides to flaunt her belly in style. That's right...

Pregnant Lady on a Motorcyle

 

Despite the fact she's had three children already, Roxanne decides to reread some of the pregnancy books. She also is getting a sense that there's definitely more than one baby inside.

 

After a trip to the day spa, Roxanne decides to do some bonding with her daughter.

 

Max, on the other hand, has been worried that his mom is getting fat for some odd reason. Instead she tells him that that there's a little brother or sister in there. Potentially both, she's pretty sure it's multiples.

"So there's a baby in there?"

"Bab-ies."

"Well, how'd they get in there?"

"Uh..."

 

Awkward questions aside, Roxanne manages to distract Max long enough to evade the question and Andrew and Alexa take over in the watching children department.

 

The family that games together...(Sorry Andrew!)

 

Roxanne moves upstairs to do some dancing, as it's the only physical exercise she feels comfortable doing this far along in her pregnancy.

 





 

The older kids tire of the games, and Alexa decides to do some reading while her brothers watch sports.

 I love how Alexa and Andrew sit together. Although poor Max in the back...

Before the kids get home from school, Roxanne goes into labor again.

 

 

She decides to have the babies born here at home. After all, she's had three already. How bad could this one be?

 

She had to ask. Alexa and Andrew don't take well to pregnancy and proceed to freak out.

 

"Mom! Shouldn't you be at the hospital?!"

"Do we need to get hot water?!"

"I don't know, I've never had a baby, you nutjob!"



After freaking out for about two minutes the twins decide they have better things to do than assist in the birth of their younger siblings.

"Mom, it's great you're having a baby and all, but we're gonna go do homework now."

 

Max reacts much like his teen siblings did.

"This is the part where the baby comes out?! I thought there was magic involved in it!"

Here's one...

 

Two...

Max was sort of right...there are sparkles involved.

And here's three. Roxanne discovered she was woefully underprepared for triplets, so she had a nursery built off of the girls' room.

I apologize in advance, readers, because you're going to see this room A LOT.

D'awwww!

Not sure which baby this is...when they're this small I can never remember.

Meet Bianca, Beckham and Bertram.

Bianca

It appears that the green hair must be a girl only trait...

 

Beckham

He likes to be shirtless. Shirts are for wimps and girls.

Bertram

 

I figure I'll end here with a cutesy picture of the boys playing with tanks.

Boys will be boys...

 

I'm finally glad we got this chapter done. More craziness and babies are to follow! Stay tuned!