A few evenings with Skyward Sword
I like it so far.
Having just played Oblivion, which has an overly strict “fatigue” meter, I actually like that Skyward Sword does something similar but friendlier. More to the point, I like that Link actually huffs and puffs and gets visibly tired if you have him dash around and jump and climb things. Link now has the standard suite of Tomb Raider moves (shimmying on ledges, running up walls, etc.), but unlike Lara Croft he can’t just hang by his hands indefinitely. This sort of goes back to what I was saying about Shenmue — these things help sell the illusion that you’re controlling a person instead of a bounding cylinder.
What I don’t love is not specific to Zelda, but it goes back to Ocarina of Time: the “helper” character who pops out of nowhere to tell you where to go. I basically gave up on a second play-through of Ocarina because I couldn’t stand the damn owl that shows up to filibuster you the instant you arrive at an interesting area. One of the things I still love about the original Zelda is the solitary feel it has. There are a couple points (the Lost Woods!) that could use a helper, but overall I think the game would lose something if the first thing you saw was a fairy saying HEY! GO IN THAT CAVE!
HEY! SEE THAT SWORD THE OLD MAN IS OFFERING YOU? TAKE IT
PRESS THE A BUTTON TO USE THE SWORD! IF YOUR HEARTS ARE FULL, IT WILL SHOOT ACROSS THE SCREEN!
I THINK THE FIRST PIECE OF THE TRIFORCE IS TO THE NORTH! FOLLOW ME!
WATCH OUT! THESE MONSTERS SHOOT ROCKS!
HEY! AM I BOTHERING YOU? IF I’M BOTHERING YOU, I’LL STOP.
I understand what they’re trying to do — I don’t think anyone I know has gotten through any Zelda without getting stuck in one of the dungeons, and in theory you might find yourself being unsure what you’re supposed to do next. (Like, you might not know where to find the one path you’re supposed to take to get to the next area.) And certainly it’s better than the 80s PC game approach where you’d be lucky to get an on-screen description of the controls. It just seems like the new Zelda doesn’t want to take a risk that the player might have to infer anything at all. Even dialog with other in-game characters is interrupted by the Blue Lady spelling out what you’ve just been told.
This is probably a fine approach for kids, and this is a great game for kids, so sure, keep the Blue Lady. I wish they had made her a bit less intrusive, though. Maybe overlay her text on the screen while you run around, so you can continue cutting down grass to find rupees if that’s what you want to do? I don’t know if I’m just getting impatient in my old age, but I increasingly feel that video games are an active medium, and you should avoid taking control away from me as much as possible.
