Skyward Sword vs Skyrim: Bosses

Skyward Sword: Bosses in his game are huge and I mean huge! From giant flaming monsters to flying whales to tentacled monsters. Most of these bosses are defeated by using items you acquired in the temple before you fight them, but some rely almost purely on swordplay and shielding. Each boss has at least two stages to beating them. You have their initial stage where you fight them using the item you acquired, but then the stage will change, or they'll raise their defence, of they'll change tactics, forcing you to rethink your strategy. These fights are awesome and are accompanied with fantastic music to suit. Never has hacking away at a gigantic eyeball seemed so appealing. Also, I must add that most of these fights are more challenging than ones in previous games. Chug those health potions. 


Skyrim: The bosses in Skyrim certainly look great, but most of them play out like the normal enemies. Okay, so you rush through a cave filled with frostbite spiders and risk life and limb to get to the obvious treasure at the end. Before you can reach the chest, you come across a slightly bigger spider which does slightly more damage and is slightly harder to kill. That's the boss. There are a fair few more though, like Trolls, but they aren't exactly tough...Giants and mammoths are huge, but all you have to do is keep away from them and blast them with frost and you should be fine. Werewolf boss was...brief. However, hands down the best bosses are the dragons. WOWOHMIGOSHFREAKINDRAGONSPLZDONTEATME%
These guys fight so differently to anything else in the game and are so much fun to engage. Also, they breath fire/ice. Hell yes! 

Twilight Princess haters?

Ah, Zelda games. Each one I've played holds a special place in my gaming heart. What can be said about these games that hasn't already been said. They're fantastic. They're awesome. Most of the are masterpieces. Course, there was one game involving crossbows...
Aside from that, the Zelda franchise has been highly influential and critically acclaimed. Who doesn't like these games? The series has even built up a huge fan base to go along with mainstream success. Take a look at Twilight princess. It Sold around 6.5 million copies. With good reasons the game was...AWFUL?
What the hell? Awful? Who thinks this game is awful? Well, a few people... Some hate this game. They think the storytelling in this game is mediocre at best and that the level design was terrible. Also, the haters claim that this game tried too hard to be dark. I disagree. This game was plenty dark. Not in the same way as Majora's Mask, but it is still pretty unnerving at times. Especially at the end where Midna...no, we don;t speak of that. Anyway, the puzzles, motion controls and story are better than any of the other Zelda games I've played (except for Skyward Sword) Perhaps the only reason that Twilight Princess wasn't as acclaimed as Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask is because they came first. The three dimensional Zelda games are the best ones, however after Ocarina of Time, they began to follow a formula. After the 2D ones changed from stuff like the Minish Cap to Phantom Hourglass, it became a very different style of game. The 3D ones didn't change to drastically after Ocarina of Time. Sure, Majora's Mask had a clock and Masks to wear, but still fairly similar. Wind Waker brought in a boat and an ocean which made things different, but Twilight Princess strayed closer to Ocarina of Time more so than the others, which (for a series with similar but different games) might not have been the best idea. Twilight Princess may have done it better, but it didn't really differ enough to have the same critical reception. Put it this way, if Twilight Princess was the first 3D Zelda game instead of Ocarina, it probably would have been considered the best of all time. Anyway, I love Twilight Princess more than my own children...uh...
It is a great game, and I just don't see where the hate comes from

History tends to repeat itself

Way back when what was considered to be the best game of all time? The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. What was the game that came just before it that some claim also has that status? Super Mario 64. Both revolutionary, Both masterful games. Both still played to this day. Back in the era of the N64, they were THE games (that and Goldeneye) Nowadays, while Nintendo is still popular, there is much more on offer. There are great games like Crysis and Deus Ex and Batman flying all over the place, where does Nintendo fit in? Well, some people hate Nintendo. "Wii sucks" is something that is heard a fair bit. Something I disagree with. I care about games, not consoles. If the Wii has my favourite game ever on it, then its my favourite game ever, nothing changes. See, name two games that remind you or SM64 and OOT. How about: Super Mario Galaxy 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Both of these games are better than their predecessors and have received great reception both critically and through the fan base. See, if you're an outsider looking in, you might think that Nintendo keeps trying to make the same games over and over again. But these games are handled with so much care and affection that you can't help but love them.

Skyward Sword vs Skyrim: Gear

Skyward Sword: Just about every piece of equipment you get in this game is necessary. From the humble slingshot to the awesome Bow, just about everything you get it required to complete the game. This also means that you never have any real excess gear unless you want to. If you need to carry more bombs for a section, you can buy more bomb bags to replace other items in your inventory, same with arrow and slingshot etc. You also carry a shield which can be replaced. Most of the items are completely needed for completion of the game, but it's always nice to have extra stuff and not being forced to micromanage all your gear.

Skyrim: GEAR, GEAR, GEAR! So much GEAR! The gear in this game is reflective of your play style. If you carry all this armour or magic robes etc. A lot of it you can use, but at the same time, there's a lot you don't need. However, that's not really a bad thing as you can always just sell the stuff you don't want. Actually, it's one of the best ways to make profit in Skyrim. The only trouble is, there's a limit to how much you can carry before you become unable to run and if you haven't chosen to invest in stamina, then you are pretty much at a loss. But no matter, you can store stuff in your house...if you can afford one. Basically, you carry the gear you want, and sell the stuff you don't. Sounds simple? Well, it gets really frustrating trying to manage all your crap and although you can favourite items, it never really feels fluid to sort through it. Still, the amount of gear in the game is impressive and how much of it you use is entirely up to you.

Skyward Sword vs Skyrim: Combat

Skyward Sword: The combat in this game is much more engaging than in previous Zelda games. You take control of Link's sword and shield with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. This system is intuitive and hardly ever feels clunky. The only time it let me down was when I had to use stabs. Stabbing just doesn't seem to work for me, I might be alone, I might not be. Enemies become little mini puzzles themselves as they will anticipate your moves and block accordingly. They learn as well. Keep fooling them with the same tricks and they'll wise up. An example of a simple puzzle enemy is the skulltala. You have to perform an upward vertical slash to knock him onto his back and perform a finisher. A boss like Ghirahim is trickier. He makes sure you can only hit him where his guard is down (the game gives you subtle clues) or else you face devastating counter attacks. In short, combat is more fun, more rewarding and more engaging than in any other Zelda game to date.


Skyrim: There is more than one way to fight, but most of them feel lackluster. One handed, two handed and dual weapons revolve around hitting the target, walking backwards, then doing it again. You have to watch your stamina meter so you can watch out when you do power attacks which make them stagger, leaving them open, but overall not too deep. Magic is one step up. Choosing what spells to use is fun, but again, you spend a lot of time walking backward and spraying spells, hoping the opponent doesn't reach you. The most fun would be archery. This takes good aim and good positioning. I personally spend the most time as a mage, with the occasional two hander. Despite the clunky combat, its solid. I enjoy most encounters though.

Skyward Sword vs Skyrim: Travelling

If you remember a while back, we are pitting Skyward Sword against Skyrim. (Yes, I know, Skyrim isn't Nintendo...haters will hate) Anyway,  I (4EVER, the one whose opinion actually matters) will be comparing the various aspects of Skyward Sword and Skyrim. Oh, and for those fanboys out there claiming I will be biased simply because I'm writing this in on the Nintendo Blog as opposed to the Other Games blog...silence. And for those about to say: "SKYRIM HAS BETTER GRAPHICSZ!!!" Shut up.

Skyward Sword: Most of the travelling done in this game is done either on foot or Loftwing. Exploration on foot is made much easier than previous Zelda games thanks to the addition of a stamina meter. This not only allows him to sprint, but run up walls. Whenever you discover an new area and progress forward, the game always make a simple but clever way of allowing you to return to the older sections, usually by making you push down a log to climb up a wall from a position that was previously impossible to climb. In the Sky, Link travels around on the back of his Loftwing. You can fly through the sky in a very fun to control bird and explore the floating islands. Unfortunately, the Sky is a little empty, with little to explore other than searching for chests and Goddess cubes. Using the Loftwing, Link can Sky dive into lands below the clouds. When he does, you can choose roughly where to land. This saves a lot of travel time that was in other Zelda games.

Skyrim: The travelling in Skyrim gives you options. You can fast travel places if you don't want to walk to, but at the same time you can walk anywhere and let adventure find you. Thanks to the vast amount of content, it is worth walking the walk in Skyrim. You could be attacked by wolves, see a prisoner taken to be executed, find a cave or encounter a dragon. Moving in Skyrim can be done by running with a stamina bar, or on horse. However, Horses seem to disregard physics as they can walk on surfaces that range from flat to 89 degrees. Controlling horses is a little awkward though. By the way, you also find words which are linked to shouts. Definitely worth your while to go exploring.

Skyward Sword vs Skyrim: Story

If you remember a while back, we are pitting Skyward Sword against Skyrim. (Yes, I know, Skyrim isn't Nintendo...haters will hate) Anyway,  I (4EVER, the one whose opinion actually matters) will be comparing the various aspects of Skyward Sword and Skyrim. Oh, and for those fanboys out there claiming I will be biased simply because I'm writing this in on the Nintendo Blog as opposed to the Other Games blog...silence. And for those about to say: "SKYRIM HAS BETTER GRAPHICSZ!!!" Shut up.

Skyward Sword: To begin, I must say that this is the best story in a Zelda game to date. Although it remains formulaic (Zelda is captured, save her) so much is new. This story brings together the history of the Zelda franchise and explains the reason many of the series' stories exist in the first place. A prequel, this game tells the epic tale of Link trying to save his childhood friend Zelda from the land below. Set in a land above the clouds, all the people there never go below for fear of monsters and their birds won't go down. When Zelda is taken, you must go below the clouds to rescue her. Soon, you uncover the plot of the Demon Lord Ghirahim as he tries to resurrect his Master using Zelda. The story also has some wonderful characters. Just about everyone is memorable, from the dialogue, to the exaggerated actions they perform, you will love the tale told in this game and you will love the characters; from the evil Ghirahim to the small roles of Calwin and Pipit. 

Skyrim: The story in this game feels like a tale from a huge fantasy book brought to life. A tale of rebellion (civil war) and Dragons, this is immense. Actually, there are so many stories in Skyrim you will find it hard to find them all. Some are really interesting like the main story and the Winterhold quests, while some are very dull. A good story is when you have to plunder an ancient dungeon in search of a magical artifact. Those stories bring up the fantasy writer in all of us. Bad stories fall on: I left my butt scratcher in the cave of death. Could you get it for me/]? Overall though, Skyrim has a great tale. The characters are unfortunately forgettable and uninteresting. The script writing isn't strong enough for people †o like these characters and they all blend together. Most of the time, you'll see: guy on throne = Jarl (king) and never be interested enough to remember his name. Overall though, the better stories in Skyrim more than make up for the lackluster ones and the weak characters