LoZ: Skyward Sword

[dcmjlive]

Not-so-new-but-new-to-me NEWS:

The game is slated for an EARLY 2011 release! Woot! Hopefully I'll get to play it while I'm still in senior year!

Also, some added news is given as to how the whole gameplay would come about. The traditional sense of Zelda is that in a dungeon, you would have to solve puzzles, find items, fight a boss and find a key item while in the field, you would have to gather info, find the next destination and do some sidequests.

This time around, they're hoping to change the dynamic. Some parts of the field would probably have you solving puzzles, fighting bosses and finding a key item. We had sort of a taste of that in Twilight Princess where you had to collect tears of light and the final boss being that big bug you had to fight in Lake Hylia. We also had that a bit with the King Bulbin and Shadow Beast fights. But neither of these fights helped you acquire a key item like the Mirror Shards or the Fusion Shadows.

Conversely, they're hoping to do the same with a dungeon. One of the ideas that came out in the interview with Aonuma is like losing your sword during the dungeon, then you would have to retrieve it while solving puzzles, avoiding enemies and maybe even probably getting a clue as to where to go next. But then again, we did have a taste of these. In WindWaker, there was a time where you lost your sword in the Forsaken Fortress and you had to use stealth to get the sword back. Also, in Ocarina of Time, they had the Ice Cavern dungeon, which did not have a boss but gave you a key item.

The ideas in itself aren't new but it always felt like these ideas were tacked on. I hope that Skyward Sword would make this integral instead of add-ons so that the game would also feel more fresh. Oh, and I hope they bring back Dark Link. :-P

As to artstyle, I finally understand why they chose that direction. They chose a slightly exaggerated but somewhat realistic look for two different reasons. The slightly exaggerated look, which brought about the Cezanne impressionist painting feel, was to give clues to players as to where the weaknesses are. It was their way to make it I guess, more kid-friendly. Also, a more realistic approach would have made the characters become too real and because of proportion, wouldn't allow for some crazy weaknesses.

As for the somewhat realistic look, they wanted it so that it would still feel like a more mature game as opposed to one that is kiddy. They wanted it to appeal to the hardcore gamers and by having adult Link instead of young Link, it gave them free reign to incorporate darker elements to the game in a way that would still seem menacing.

[dcmjlive]

Sorry, third post in a row. It seems that Aonuma confirmed and actually changed the timeline position of Skyward Sword...

Skyward Sword comes before Ocarina of Time

Given that OoT was the previously set first game, Skyward Sword effectively becomes the first in the series.

And it does make sense. The sword we have here is not called initially the Master Sword, it is called the Skyward Sword and we have it confirmed as well that this sword becomes the Master Sword.

This also tells us of a few things. First, Ganondorf would most probably not be in the game. This is because OoT is the start of Ganondorf's story. Ganondorf, one of those who have learned about the secret of the triforce wanted to secure it for himself. Knowing that the royal family holds the key to the triforce, he acts as one of King Hyrule's confidants. Since SS starts before that, if Ganondorf does appear, it would most probably a cameo appearance, or maybe the Gerudo male 100 years before Ganondorf.

Next, we finally know that the Master Sword is literally from the heavens. Probably, we can even consider Skyloft as the City in the Sky because the Ooccoo who are said to be the Hylians ancestors reside there.

Lastly, this gives a clue as to what the plot is about. Given that Hyrule is said to be in trouble and this Link is sent to save it, we can deduce that the trouble can stem from the story found in Ocarina where people became greedy and went on a Triforce search as some kind of a Holy Grail.

So questions that might be answered:

1. How does the Master Sword become the seal to the Triforce?
2. Would this depict the original legend of the Legend of Zelda series that was mentioned in the booklet of AoL?
3. Would this be the Link referred to by TMC, the hero of men sent with a sword from the sky?

Side comment:
Mario always has Bowser
Samus always has Ridley
but why doesn't Link always have Ganondorf?

[The-Forgotten-One]

where did you get that information?

and Link doesn't always have Ganondorf because he's a true hero and helps all people no matter what the cause is, unlike Mario who is just in it for the peach, and unlike Samus who just has some serious bad luck when it comes to space pirates.

[Karoku (2100)©]

where did you get that information?

and Link doesn't always have Ganondorf because he's a true hero and helps all people no matter what the cause is, unlike Mario who is just in it for the peach, and unlike Samus who just has some serious bad luck[/i] when it comes to space pirates.

Ahhh, I don't think it'd be Samus' fault for that.

Also, what DJ said does sound interesting.  Even funnier if Pit made a cameo appearance in Skyloft, as if he knew Link or something

As for the villain, it could be someone from a completely different race.  Maybe even someone who convinced Ganondorf to go Maverick, thus spreading the Ganon virus all over the world and infecting all Hyruloids, causing mass induced chaos and hysteria, calling upon LinX and Zeldo to- Oh.... Wait a minute

[Muzy72]

and Link doesn't always have Ganondorf because he's a true hero and helps all people no matter what the cause is, unlike Mario who is just in it for the peach, and unlike Samus who just has some serious bad luck when it comes to space pirates.

Your logic fails.

[dcmjlive]

where did you get that information?

and Link doesn't always have Ganondorf because he's a true hero and helps all people no matter what the cause is, unlike Mario who is just in it for the peach, and unlike Samus who just has some serious bad luck when it comes to space pirates.

I always get my information from Zelda Wiki. I was looking at the Metroid Timeline one day and I decided to see if there were any new developments with the Zelda Timeline. I noticed that they all put SS before OoT so I figured to search the source. Turns out Aonuma was so excited that he told us where in the timeline it is.

And I agree with Muz, logic fail. Samus always has Ridley because even after the eradication of Planet Zebes, some stupid Galactic Federation people decided to experiment on BioWeapons from Metroid and Space Pirate DNA. What happened is that Ridley was born again as a clone. Also, upon Ridley's defeat, they preserved his body and when the X parasite came on to the lab, the parasite created a copy of Ridley. Also prior to Super Metroid, Samus' always had missions related to hunting space pirates, especially as she made it her life reason to destroy the race that killed her parents.

Mario always has Bowser because Bowser is in love with Peach, and Mario and Peach love each other.

Whereas Ganondorf, he's only there trying to terrorize the descendants of the original OoT Link, Zelda, Impa and the sages. Link has too many side quests (MM, PH, ALttP, ST, AoL, OoS, OoA) Also, they decided to make games where the enemy is the Picori, Vaati, who looks lame as compared to Ganondorf. That being said, I'm asking why there are so many side quest games.

Even funnier if Pit made a cameo appearance in Skyloft, as if he knew Link or something

LOL, if Pit made an appearance, I wish you got a chance to kill him. :-P

As for the villain, it could be someone from a completely different race.  Maybe even someone who convinced Ganondorf to go Maverick

Probably...I'm still betting though the enemy is a Gerudo.

[The-Forgotten-One]

well excuse me for trying to get a laugh and failing at it.

[Muzy72]

well excuse me for trying to get a laugh and failing at it.

Well next time don't try to be funny .

[dcmjlive]

well excuse me for trying to get a laugh and failing at it.

You're excused.

[Biggoron]

Probably...I'm still betting though the enemy is a Gerudo.

Yeah that's a good guess. Since there's only one male Gerudo born every hundred years, maybe the villian in this game will be the male Gerudo before Ganondorf.

Or maybe the game will show some of Ganondorf's childhood, which could explain more about why there's so much hatred in him.

[Karoku (2100)©]

Yeah that's a good guess. Since there's only one male Gerudo born every hundred years, maybe the villian in this game will be the male Gerudo before Ganondorf.

Or maybe the game will show some of Ganondorf's childhood, which could explain more about why there's so much hatred in him.

But to avoid making him a Sephiroth, what if the villain is a really-really-REALLY old and frail Gerudo--not frail as in "insignificant"--but pretend there is a moment where Ganondorf is just at his peak and the end is the end.  Maybe this Gerudo could've been a grandfather to him.  Maybe Ganondorf was a loyal knight that betrayed Hyrule Kingdom after ward.  Maybe someone who discovered the power of the Triforce, perhaps that Gerudo, corrupts Ganon's mind at the end of the game which prompts Ganon into obtaining the power for himself?  I know it might be OBVIOUS, but if they want an appropriate climactic cliff-hanger, they need to consider what makes Ganon the bad-dude that he is still today.

[dcmjlive]

Or maybe the game will show some of Ganondorf's childhood, which could explain more about why there's so much hatred in him.

This...seems unlikely. It was already revealed in WW the reason why Ganondorf had so much hatred. He always felt that the Gerudo race was mistreated, ostracized and marginalized as they were forced to live in the desert region. This is opposed to the Hylians who live in the lush center of the kingdom. Whereas, all other races as well have pretty good lifestyles suited to their characteristics. But Gerudo have to endure harsh sandstorms, lack of resources and thus had to result to thieving. WW actually presented a more human Ganondorf. With the pain that comes with being a Gerudo, he found out about the Triforce and how it could grant any wish and what he wanted to wish for at first is to give the Gerudo a chance to be equals with the Hylians.

But due to the anger, this is what prompted him to get only the Triforce of Power. That power made him more and more greedy and high-strung prompting him to wish that Hyrule to rise up and be exposed to the sun once again so he could rule it.

But as to Skyward Sword, I think it would delve into the events that led to Link being awakened as the Hero of Time. Link ended up in the Kokiri Forest not as a mistake. Due to the wars happening in Hyrule at the time, Link's mom, fearing for her son's life decided to take shelter in the Kokiri Forest. In her way there, his mother suffered from the war and eventually died leaving Link in the forest.

In that regard, I think the game would be more focused on what events led to such a war. As said, an impending evil was going around Hyrule at the time of SS. This seems more plausible.

[Evilskull]

Sorry for interrupting  this very interesting conversation, but I feel like such a noob now...I found out here that Ganon's a Gerudo ;_; and I've been playing these games since childhood. I'm guessing I didn't know because I've never played WW before...

[dcmjlive]

Ganondorf's been a Gerudo since Ocarina of Time. It's the reason why Nabooru is second-command to Ganondorf in OoT.

[Biggoron]

This...seems unlikely. It was already revealed in WW the reason why Ganondorf had so much hatred. He always felt that the Gerudo race was mistreated, ostracized and marginalized as they were forced to live in the desert region. This is opposed to the Hylians who live in the lush center of the kingdom. Whereas, all other races as well have pretty good lifestyles suited to their characteristics. But Gerudo have to endure harsh sandstorms, lack of resources and thus had to result to thieving.

You really think that the climate his people live in is what makes him a twisted killer that tries to rule Hyrule? This...seems unlikely.

It may be a reason for some anger or a reason to become a thief, but not a reason for Ganondorf's role as such a major antagonist. There's more to it.