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Nintendo Releases The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

mayberry42 writes "Finally, the wait is over — for European fans, anyway. After months (well, over a year) of delays, the latest adventure of Link is finally out. Reviews for the game are consistently favorable. Famitsu magazine has given it a perfect score. IGN says it's 'the greatest Zelda game ever created,' and even the best game for the Wii. Of course, some of you may have already known this, given that it has already been hacked to run on an emulator (and yes, it looks even better in HD). I would love to hear the opinions of you Europeans who've played it. Is it as good as they say?" (Skyward Sword doesn't come out in the U.S. until Sunday, and not until next week for Japan and Australia.) While still complimentary, Giant Bomb's review goes into a bit more depth on the game's shortcomings.

138 comments

  1. Meh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    >I would love to hear the opinions of you Europeans who've played it. Is it as good as they say?

    Nah. It is a silly game. Running around in a silly hat with a sword, packed with all sorts of unrealistic creatures and someone has apparently built all sorts of puzzles into the world. Who would do such a thing? Totally unrealistic and stupid. You'd probably want to give this one a miss.

  2. First! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's nice to get the first last for once, but I have to say that I don't understand why developers still release their games at different dates in different regions. Especially with the internet, reviews are going to be coming out as soon as the game is out anyway, which if the game is bad will reduce sales in the regions where the game comes out later (not that this is a concern in this case).

    1. Re:First! by tlhIngan · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's nice to get the first last for once, but I have to say that I don't understand why developers still release their games at different dates in different regions. Especially with the internet, reviews are going to be coming out as soon as the game is out anyway, which if the game is bad will reduce sales in the regions where the game comes out later (not that this is a concern in this case).

      i18n, mostly. Translating the story, translating the script, hiring voice actors to say the lines, re-doing UI elements in case stuff doesn't fit (like it often doesn't), doing culture checks etc. (some gestures may be considered obscene, some graphics may be illegal, etc.).

      Doing 20+ languages simultaneously would drive anyone up the wall - a problem in one language then has to be fixed, and the fix tested on all the other languages to make sure they still work correctly, etc.

      At least, you do Japanese first (easy, Nintendo's native). Then you do English(/French) for North America (maybe Spanish as well). Then you pick either Europe and do the other languages, or Asia and its languages.

      Imagine the chaos caused if a worldwide release is held up because someone discovered a bug in some little used language.

      Also, doing this allows the disc pressers time to press discs so they're not having to make millions of copies in a month, but hundreds of thousands as the demand ripples through the world.

    2. Re:First! by BinarySolo · · Score: 5, Informative

      According to Wikipedia: EU November 18, 2011 NA November 20, 2011 JP November 23, 2011 AU November 24, 2011 As you can see, Japan is in fact not first, and the proximity of the release dates doesn't seem to fit in with your theory that working on localizations is the reason for the staggered launches.

    3. Re:First! by BinarySolo · · Score: 2
      Oops, formatting fail:
      • EU November 18, 2011
      • NA November 20, 2011
      • JP November 23, 2011
      • AU November 24, 2011
    4. Re:First! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oops, formatting fail:

      • EU November 18, 2011
      • NA November 20, 2011
      • JP November 23, 2011
      • AU November 24, 2011
      • TPB November 11, 2011

      fixed

    5. Re:First! by antifoidulus · · Score: 4, Informative

      It has to do with retailers really. For whatever reason, in most areas of the world new games(and movies, and music etc.) are only released on a certain day of the week. Not sure why they continue that tradition, but there it is.

    6. Re:First! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Characters don't speak in Zelda.. the characters just make goofy noises while you read what they say. I guess they do need time for literal translation, but Google Translate could do most of the heavy work.

    7. Re:First! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      We get signal!

    8. Re:First! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, trollbot!

    9. Re:First! by Baseclass · · Score: 1

      Set us up the bomb.

      --
      ^^vv<><>BA
    10. Re:First! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For the general case what he said was correct. Specifically for Skyward Sword it's all about retailers.

    11. Re:First! by Oakey · · Score: 2

      correction... set up us the bomb

      --
      "Dre don't get as high as me.... I'm Cheech and Chong" - Snoop Dogg
    12. Re:First! by danbuter · · Score: 1

      It's for the regulars. I know comic shops always have a TON of sales on Wednesdays, as it's new release day every single week. Many people only go that day, and aren't seen in the shop otherwise. They just know that Wednesday is the day. And many people like routines and it's hard to forget this.

    13. Re:First! by b4dc0d3r · · Score: 1

      This seems to be nearly simultaneous, and gp was talking about the general case, which ggp was asking about. Your data suggests they completed all localization, probably during the year-long delay, and are more likely avoiding other big game launches in the region. For this specific case, which was not even the subject of gp or ggp post.

    14. Re:First! by porges · · Score: 1

      Indeed, but that doesn't explain why Nintendo puts out its big games on Sunday in North America, since Tuesday is "the day of the week" in general as far as I know.

    15. Re:First! by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

      I think that's BS. Not all releases fit the idea that regions with many more languages get theirs last (like this one) and if you do do English, Spanish and French you cover a lot of the world there. Throw in German and that's even more. So why not do those at once? And it's not like they take into consideration local variations of the languages. Spanish people have complained about getting Mexican spanish in their games and the UK frequently gets US english in software so they're not even doing a great job of it.

      Personally I think they do it to minimise risk. If the game tanks in the US other regions won't get it or will get a smaller shipment. That in theory makes sense but they also make it likely it will sell less in those regions by doing that because people will either import it or not buy it because everyone in the US says it sucks when in reality maybe they wouldn't think that if they just bought it without being too biased from other sources.

    16. Re:First! by antifoidulus · · Score: 1

      Maybe they have some sort of deal with some of the big box retailers. By releasing on Sunday you pretty much guarantee that the only people who can get it on launch day are ones that bought it(or more likely pre-ordered it) from a physical store as most delivery companies don't do Sunday delivery.

    17. Re:First! by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      It's due to shipping schedules. In Europe games arrive in stores on Thursdays (this also applies to re-stocking if something sells out). Hence release dates are put on Fridays so the stores have enough time to unpack the goods and put them on shelves. Some stores just put stuff on the shelves as it arrives, others wait for the official date. When games get released on unconventional dates (e.g. a Tuesday) that confuses retailers because it means their usual handling schedule doesn't apply. E.g. Space Marine came out on a Tuesday but since shipping happens on Thursdays it had to be in stores at the end of the previous week. As a result I got the game several days ahead of its release date (which didn't mean much to me since I got the PC version and that only activates on release day) because the retailers just shoved it out there on the shelves on the day they got the shipment in.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    18. Re:First! by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      In the US Nintendo has a policy of releasing games on Sundays. I think it has to do with not wanting children to skip school for the games or something. That's not possible in Europe since at least Germany doesn't allow stores to open on Sundays outside of special occasions and I'm sure plenty of other countries also shut down stores on Sundays. Can't release a game when stores are closed.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    19. Re:First! by timftbf · · Score: 2

      At least, you do Japanese first (easy, Nintendo's native). Then you do English(/French) for North America (maybe Spanish as well). Then you pick either Europe and do the other languages, or Asia and its languages.

      Where this really, really tends to suck is in the UK. We have to wait for the European release to be ready, due to localisation issues, but when we do finally get it, the game is still in American rather than English :(

  3. Slashdot is way behind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This game has been circulating the net for well over a week now, and has been pirated like crazy. I personally don't care for the game so I wont bother to pirate it or buy it. But how the hell is this slashdot worthy news?

    1. Re:Slashdot is way behind by sexconker · · Score: 3, Informative

      I believe it's the E3 demo that has been out for weeks, not the full game.

    2. Re:Slashdot is way behind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're technically correct (the best kinda of correct), but you probably didn't know that. The retail version was leaked Nov. 11th. It's been out almost a week.

    3. Re:Slashdot is way behind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The full game has been out since the 11th. Just go look on TPB.

    4. Re:Slashdot is way behind by DaVince21 · · Score: 1

      Probably because of its unique controls (for a Zelda game).

      --
      I am not devoid of humor.
  4. Zombie Zelda by ackthpt · · Score: 1

    Time to put this one to rest.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Zombie Zelda by drb226 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Insert scathing comment against old-schooler here, cleverly including "off your lawn".

    2. Re:Zombie Zelda by Osgeld · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Nintendo seems to have the exact opposite problem as sega, sega could make the best game in the universe at this point and no one would ever look at it (not that they have or anything) nintendo on the other hand can recycle the same old "save the princess" shit over and over and over and over again and there are a billion people that cream their pants over it.

      Why? I dunno ... but I did learn to just ignore it, cause god help you if you say anything or else a trillion fanboi's wearing a green skirt and tights will cut off your balls with a flute.

    3. Re:Zombie Zelda by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nintendo fanboys are very much like their Apple counterparts in this respect.

    4. Re:Zombie Zelda by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Insert scathing comment about pot-addled teenager who only grew up with casual gaming and has a limited view about gaming in general, but feels he's an expert because he played Pokemon and WoW a lot.

    5. Re:Zombie Zelda by scot4875 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Don't like it? Don't play it.

      I get sick of military themed shooters, so I don't play them. See how that works?

      --Jeremy

      --
      Jesus was a liberal
    6. Re:Zombie Zelda by qwak23 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You know there is a difference between artwork and technical graphics right?

      You can push more polygons at a higher resolution, you can have the best technical engine in the world, but if it's boring and uninspired, then well, it doesn't matter how much AA you've got.

    7. Re:Zombie Zelda by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Excellent way to prove his point poster and moderators. Bravo.

    8. Re:Zombie Zelda by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      nintendo on the other hand can recycle the same old "save the princess" shit over and over and over and over again and there are a billion people that cream their pants over it.

      So what if it involves princesses and the rescuing thereof? It could be about fishing a giant corn log out of a magical golden toilet, as long as it's fun. The Zelda games always have more than enough innovation between them to warrant another go, which is more than I can say for the majority of big gaming franchises.

    9. Re:Zombie Zelda by Oakey · · Score: 1

      Some of us are old enough to remember when games were about gameplay rather than shiny graphics. Rise of the Robots anyone? Of course, the reverse is true these days.

      --
      "Dre don't get as high as me.... I'm Cheech and Chong" - Snoop Dogg
    10. Re:Zombie Zelda by joocemann · · Score: 1

      Lol. The game has neither. And many visually stunning games have great gameplay, this is what most people call a great game in more than one aspect.

  5. Very good game by Patron · · Score: 2

    It's a very good game, the best Zelda made. I would say between 9/10 and 10/10. The controls are very accurate and it feels amazing to control the sword in 1:1 movement with the Wiimote. This game shows the power of Motion Plus and It's too bad games of these caliber have not released before. Imagine a Star Wars game like this where you swing a light sabel...

    1. Re:Very good game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WTF is a light sabel?

    2. Re:Very good game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      a japanese light saber

    3. Re:Very good game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      WTF is a light sabel?

      Underweight ferret.

    4. Re:Very good game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's a "ligth saber" coming from someone who is too lazy to look up what "sabel" in their native tounge - most probably swedish - is called in english.

  6. motion plus by slyrat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm really interested in this game since it seems to be one of the first to use the motion plus support very effectively. Any comments on how it feels or plays in this regards would be good to hear. Everything I've looked at online seems to indicate a good quality title. Will be good to play the wii again.

    1. Re:motion plus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      It works decent enough. It is sometimes a little off (for example, a spider enemy needs a thrust to kill, but the Wii Motion generally picks up a thrust as an overarm swing), though for the most part it gets better as you get used to avoiding certain gestures.

      One partciular annoying factor is having to recalibrate the controler every now and again. When your character starts swinging the sword in the opposite direction from you, you know its time.

      Also, you may have a lot of headaches if you use a third party controller with this game.

    2. Re:motion plus by WillAdams · · Score: 2

      Thus far, the only decent Motion Plus game (as opposed to collection of mini games like Wii Sports Resort) is Red Steel 2 which is a lot of fun, but too short, w/ only Challenge Mode after beating the game).

      That said, IR pointing games are fun and I've enjoyed:

      Red Steel 2
      Marvel Ultimate Alliance (doing attacks by moving the Wii Remote is engaging)
      The Conduit
      Link's Crossbow Training
      Metroid Prime Trilogy

      Typical button-mashing games don't interest me --- I spend too much time at work sitting.

      Looking forward to picking this up tomorrow.

      William

      --
      Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
    3. Re:motion plus by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      There's Zangeki no Reginleiv but not even NoE is bringing that one to the West. It doesn't use the M+ all that much (mostly relies on IR but the M+ keeps it more accurate when the cursor goes off-screen) but it's clearly a game that wouldn't work as well with any other input device. You pretty much draw lines on the screen that your attack goes along but those lines only draw when you're moving the controller quickly. Also it goes pretty silly with its weapon ranges (a sword can cut stuff at 20 meters range) and lets you chop limbs off enemies (the limbs regenerate after a while if you let the enemy live that long). That limb chopping is pretty important in combat to disable some enemy attacks and generally deal with crowd control.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    4. Re:motion plus by markkezner · · Score: 1

      To me using a third party controller is asking for trouble. The feel is never right, and I worry about the analog components being poorly calibrated. The only good one I owned was the AsciiPad for SNES, but that was pure digital.

      --
      Dangerous, sexy, turing complete: Femme Bots
  7. Nope. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    Anonymous Coward because this WILL be modded down to hell, but I'm sorry, SOMEONE has to call Nintendo on this stupid motion control garbage. This is the worst damn idea for gaming ever conceived of and should have never left Nintendo's R&D all those years ago.

    Even with the more "accurate" Motion Control Plus, it's still a glitchy, imprecise pile of garbage no gamer should have to put up with.

    1. Re:Nope. by masternerdguy · · Score: 0

      I agree, motion controls are crap and are ruining gaming.

      --
      To offset political mods, replace Flamebait with Insightful.
    2. Re:Nope. by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      It's a gimmick, nothing more nothing less. Oddly I don't know anyone that owns a wii, so hell if I know where the sales are coming from. Parents with small kids maybe? I guess that's the only thing that could do it. Most people I know are too tired by the time they get home from work, to do more activity to relax in front of their favorite game.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    3. Re:Nope. by Tyrannosaur · · Score: 1

      I agree that the motion control is not my favorite way of playing video games. But is Nintendo catering to *gamers*? No, of course not they are looking for the "anyone and everyone can play!" mentality with their products- and in my opinion are succeeding. And I suggest you try this zelda with your hated motion-control. It might surprise you.

    4. Re:Nope. by icebraining · · Score: 2

      According to Nielsen, the main demographics are boys 6-11 and women 25-34.

    5. Re:Nope. by BinarySolo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The genius of the Wii was that instead of having to fight with Sony and Microsoft for market share, Nintendo basically went and found a whole other market (casual gamers). Where they didn't think this through is that casual gamers are not the kinds of people who upgrade their consoles every generation, especially one with expensive hardware like the Wii U's new controller. Time will tell but the next console generation is probably going to seal Nintendo's fate.

    6. Re:Nope. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      BAWWWWW

      QQ Moar.

      I understand that you're a PC gamer that's used to having superb Logitech mice and some odd brand of keyboard that you use to ABSOLUTELY DOMINATE on CoD#345343, but for god's sake will you shut the hell up about the Wiimote? It's fine as-is and works just fine for it's intended market. Just because YOU don't like it doesn't mean it's a bad piece of hardware.

      Oh, I forgot, you're a "true" gamer who knows what's best for the "true" and "hardcore" gamer, for whom video games should only exist.

      Hey, go back to your javelin glitches and let the rest of us who actually enjoy playing more than 2 genres of games have the time of our lives with our friends, girlfriends (jealous, much?) and families. Shit, I'll buy Zelda for my girlfriend and she'll be happy as fuck and give me one hell of a blowjob AND THEN let me do her. What're you going to have? Some hot night elf doing a /dance emote for you?

    7. Re:Nope. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How is it "ruining" gaming if you never use it? Did you see the sales results for MW3? Yeah, motion controls TOTALLY jacked the sales this time around. Didn't they? Hello?

      OH FUCK SON, REALITY STRIKES AGAIN!

    8. Re:Nope. by BradleyUffner · · Score: 1

      How is it "ruining" gaming if you never use it? Did you see the sales results for MW3? Yeah, motion controls TOTALLY jacked the sales this time around. Didn't they? Hello?

      Because it's making a lot of money in the casual market, which other companies see and try to copy, which forces the horrible motion controls and other casual friendly junk in to the games we DO play. Just look at the effect that casual gaming has had on what used to be deep, rich, and complex RPGs on the PC.

    9. Re:Nope. by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      And I suggest you try this zelda with your hated motion-control. It might surprise you.

      This will actually be the first Zelda game I don't buy (or have bought for me, in the case Zelda to ALTTP, since I was a kid at the time) and , for just that reason. It's not some sort of hardcore-gamer crusade against "waggle," either. 20-*mumble* years of pre-ergonomic keyboarding have done their damage, and I don't want to, and can't, do "1:1 sword control." So no matter how intriguing it might be that they've finally changed around things like "fight the boss with the item from this dungeon" that they've been doing since ALTTP, I'll never know, because they're married to a gimmick that I'm not physically capable of enjoying the game with.

    10. Re:Nope. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "[...]the effect that casual gaming has had on what used to be deep, rich, and complex RPGs on the PC

      Poppycock! What effect? Casual gamers never bought these "deep, rich, and complex RPGs". The Nintendo Wii targeted a new audience, unfortunately for Nintendo, one that bought a cheap console but not that many games.

      If there is a decline in a certain game genre I wouldn't blame it on motion controls. If anything, casual gaming, both due to the success of the Wii and iPhone, have contributed to making gaming more accepted in our society.

      I have yet to see horrible motion controls in RPGs geared to the hard core gamer. And the things you call "casual friendly junk" is most likely progress. Game developers like to develop, not only games, but themselves to. Just doing everything like they used to because one stubborn fan don't want things to change is not going to cut it. I liked playing Pool of Radiance back in the days on my friends C64, but guess what, no one, not even we that played and worshiped the game back then would accept a control scheme today that dates back to the late 80s.

      Go get Skyrim or dig out your emulator and quit whining.

    11. Re:Nope. by ildon · · Score: 1

      I don't like motion control either, but you really should read some of the reviews for Skyward Sword. They almost unanimously state that this is the first game to actually have a good implementation of motion controls in a game.

      I'm not going to buy it either, but I'm interested to try it at a friend's house to see how true these reviews are.

    12. Re:Nope. by gordo3000 · · Score: 1

      only if you are so closed minded you can't find a single game where a different interface would improve gaming.... for example all games you used to play in the arcade as a kid (unless you are too young to recall) that worked with control schematics different than a controller allows....

    13. Re:Nope. by gordo3000 · · Score: 1

      which rpg did you used to play that is so deep and rich you can't play it now? how often did those games come out? what, are you the guy who recalls diablo and believes every game should be of equal quality?

    14. Re:Nope. by Tyrannosaur · · Score: 1

      your loss

    15. Re:Nope. by BradleyUffner · · Score: 1

      which rpg did you used to play that is so deep and rich you can't play it now? how often did those games come out? what, are you the guy who recalls diablo and believes every game should be of equal quality?

      Look at the evolution of the Elder Scrolls games. We went from a high point of Morrowind, to a greatly simplified Oblvion, which decayed even further in Skyrim. Skyrim doesn't even have stats like strength, slots for weapons and armor are significantly reduced, and dungeon design is flat with only one route though. Fallout is another example. So is the X-com series. I can go on and on if you would like.

      Diablo was hardly deep and rich, it had an extremely simple stat and skill system and just barely qualifies as an RPG. Sad thing is that it still has more depth than Skyrim.

    16. Re:Nope. by KDR_11k · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's a bad input method when the game is designed for pressing buttons and those buttons get arbitrarily replaced by gestures. Of course it doesn't improve games that aren't using it properly, just like an analog stick doesn't improve 2D fighting games or pinball games.

      Motion controls are an analog input. Using them like that makes them work. Wii Sports uses analog input, it doesn't just check if you swing the controller but how you do it and that influences the outcome (e.g. how you hit the ball). Sports games in general did benefit the most from the motion controls because they're based on a game design where skill with the tool you're using is a crucial element of the gameplay and previous control methods had to build convoluted replacement systems to challenge the player.

      However most current game designs simply presuppose that you are perfect with your tools and only hit a button to use them. Your character will never swing his sword wrong, hold his gun wrong or fail to grab that bar he jumped towards. Of course mapping that to motion controls will go wrong and lead to a "loss of precision". Change the game design to make that loss of precision a part of the challenge: If the player holds the sword wrong while swinging it doesn't cut as well, if the player holds the gun wrong then he will miss his target and if the player doesn't grab that bar then he falls.

      Of course all this is separate from the IR pointer controls which are the second best way of controlling an FPS game (the mouse is of course more accurate). Some freaks claim that dual analogs are better but that's simply their inexperience with pointer controls talking, they've played with dual analogs for decades, try five minutes of pointer controls and then just switch to analog controls while whining about the IR pointer. Yes, the shitty default controls in most Wii FPSes and the included statement that you're supposed to tweak that shit yourself are horrible. However once you've found a setup that works (near-zero bounding boxes work for me) it's much quicker and more precise than analog stick aiming. The Wiimote is the only console controller that actually uses that IR pointer scheme (the Move uses some trickery, it's better for spotting where you're holding the controller but worse for spotting where you're pointing it) so the other motion control systems simply cannot replicate that accuracy despite being attached to systems with WAY more first person shooters.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    17. Re:Nope. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, guess you shouldn't have chosen to be handicapped. Man, what a dumbass.

  8. Die by the Sword by Culture20 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How does this game compare to Die by the Sword?

    1. Re:Die by the Sword by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How does this game compare to Die by the Sword?

      They both feature swords.

    2. Re:Die by the Sword by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now that was an awesome game! Thanks for sending me back in time.

    3. Re:Die by the Sword by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      To answer myself now that I've played a few hours of Skyward Sword: Skyward Sword is much easier to control. I remember playing Die by the Sword with a Microsoft Sidewinder, and even that controller had my weapon flailing about in random directions. While the Wii motion plus isn't perfect, it does a good enough job that I get immersed fairly well, and I'm impressed with the training areas. Flight is annoying because the Motion Plus seems to forget that it's pointing up, so the bird starts lazily flapping its wings and dropping like a rock unless I level out and point up routinely.
      There's a "fruit ninja" (bamboo slice) mini-game too. :)

  9. Europe... first? by shish · · Score: 1

    Skyward Sword doesn't come out in the U.S. until Sunday, and not until next week for Japan and Australia.)

    What is this madness? Perhaps I started gaming in the 90s, but I always thought that games were released in the country they were made first, then either America or Japan (whichever one didn't make it), then Europe a month or three later (and then Australia gets a new game whenever there's a chilly breeze in hell). Has Nintendo moved their HQ and developers to Europe without me noticing?

    --
    I mod down anyone who says "I will be modded down for this", regardless of the rest of their comment
    1. Re:Europe... first? by icongorilla · · Score: 1

      Hardcore Nintendo games tend to go to Japan first, then Europe, then not to America at all. It's a trend that I IGN wrote an article on not too long back. My how times have changed, eh?

      --
      The thought of hanging myself at my student loan organization doesn't bug me as much when I think it might make a differ
    2. Re:Europe... first? by inglorion_on_the_net · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe they just wanted to get the money from the Europeans while it's still worth something. ;-)

      --
      Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
    3. Re:Europe... first? by walshy007 · · Score: 1

      Makes a bit of sense from a profit perspective though.

      New games in Australia cost about $110 AUD (112USD) whereas games in the US tend to be about $50... I know which I'd sell to for more profit per item.

      sure discs might be cheap as chips to manufacture, but storage/distribution etc still cost.

    4. Re:Europe... first? by Yosho · · Score: 2

      Basically, Nintendo of Europe is the cool branch nowadays. NoA is primarily concerned with pushing party games. For more evidence, see Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower, which aren't receiving an American release at all.

      --
      Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
    5. Re:Europe... first? by Cimexus · · Score: 1

      True, but there's almost never more than a few days between the various regions' release these days, so I don't think Europe being 'first' really matters. It's only first by a couple of days, not like in the 90s when there could be months apart. Plus with things like Steam/XBLA/other digital distribution, it makes no sense to stagger releases by too much.

      It was like that in Australia in the 90s, but these days we get releases of games and movies on the same date as everywhere else usually. A day or two later in this case ... but more often than not it's simultaneous world wide (and in fact, sometimes we even get things first due to our time zone being ahead of all the other major markets).

  10. best zelda.... ever? by Tyrannosaur · · Score: 2

    it would have to be REALLY good to beat Link to the Past. or even Ocarina of Time for that matter. I have my doubts. But will need to see this for myself

    1. Re:best zelda.... ever? by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 1

      For my part, I contend it would have to be really good to beat Twilight Princess (which is the true best Zelda ever, not those imposter games). Of course, it does look like it'll be incredible, so that might well be the case.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    2. Re:best zelda.... ever? by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You didn't think Twilight Princess was better than Link to the Past? Really? I mean, I liked Link to the Past, but was there anything in there as impressive as riding in a wild, free motion horseback chase, with ogres chasing you with flaming arrows, then pulling out your sword to whack them? That was one of the best things I've ever seen in video games.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    3. Re:best zelda.... ever? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Forget link to the past, better than ocarina of time? What is this heresy?

    4. Re:best zelda.... ever? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Link to the Past was a late, super-polished 2D game, and Ocarina of Time was an early, rough-around-the-edges 3D game. It's not hard to see how one might prefer the former.

    5. Re:best zelda.... ever? by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Sure you can ride around a huge field but in LttP the world was big without resorting to huge empty spaces. The tile graphics let them put interesting stuff on every screen.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    6. Re:best zelda.... ever? by phantomfive · · Score: 2

      A huge field with FLAMING ARROWS and SWORDFIGHTS ON HORSEBACK.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  11. Oh... by RoscBottle · · Score: 1

    ... yes. It IS as good as we say. Can't be bothered with emulators, it looks great on the Wii. Even better on my old CRT TV. :)

  12. Re:who would play this crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Compared to what? The 150th version of Halo? NHL 2011?

    You bitch like hell about all that's wrong with Zelda but you don't give us your frame of reference. How can we reply properly to your obvious stupid trolling?

  13. Re:who would play this crap by dickbot · · Score: 1

    obviously you've never played zelda in your life, am I wrong ?
      I wont even address what you said because you simply suck.

  14. Re:who would play this crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1/10 - Trying way too hard. Your grasp of the English language is fair but you're among men here. We've been trolled by the great flamers of internet history while you were still sucking your thumb.

    A good troll draws it's reader in and strikes once he's let down his defenses, his attention attracted by a mildly controversial topic. You start out pounding hard and blow your load before we even noticed you were there.

  15. Played the demo at Target by rjejr · · Score: 3, Informative

    I played the demo at Target today and to misquote Dr. Zira "It's just so damned ugly". I love cell shading, and the cartoony graphics ,and the great color scheme, but it is in my eyes a pixelated mess. I know the Wii can't due HD, but I really thought Nintendo could pull some magic out of a hat on this one and have it look good. I have a hard time looking at most Wii games except the Nintendo ones, both the Galaxy game and SSBB look great. Monster Hunter Tri even looks better than this. I'm really looking forward to playing this come Sunday, but I'm not sure how happy I'll be looking at it (52" 1080p LCD tv).

    1. Re:Played the demo at Target by sexconker · · Score: 1

      With a few bucks and a decent PC and you can play in HD.
      I don't have a compatible Bluetooth chipset (at least, it's not on the compatibility list), and I don't want to rig up my own LEDs or candles or what not, but for about $25 (price of a wireless sensor bar and compatible bluetooth kajigger), I might give Dolphin a shot for Skyward Sword.

    2. Re:Played the demo at Target by icongorilla · · Score: 1

      I worked at target for a while and Target's setup for the Wii tends to look exceptionally fugly. (I'm not sure if that is the effect of component cables.) Though you would think that modern HDTVs would be able to cheaply include some kind of filter to emulate the look of old SDTVs. You can blame SD equipment, but shouldn't you be partially blaming the equipment made to display the SD signal?

      --
      The thought of hanging myself at my student loan organization doesn't bug me as much when I think it might make a differ
    3. Re:Played the demo at Target by jaigg · · Score: 1

      Remember when we were amazed by the original Mortal Combat graphics or the PC game Blackthorn of course there weren't a lot of giant TV's back then either.

  16. Re:who would play this crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There, it took you 4 lines but you eventually figured I could not possibly be "trolling".

    I didn't apply any "trolling techniques" (at which you seem to be such a master) for the simple reason I was only winking at the last few able-minded gamers out there, some of which might buy Zelda for their wife but surely not for their kids. They'll know what I mean.

  17. Very interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hadn't really thought about all that. The region code system still seems like a money grab though.

  18. Something I saw on ESPN today by bryan1945 · · Score: 1

    "The Legend of Zelda: The Rise of Tim Tebow"
    Probably have to be an NFL fan to get it.

    --
    Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
    1. Re:Something I saw on ESPN today by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You realize that's not really a joke, right? More of an inane statement.

  19. WTF? by bussdriver · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It has nothing to do with "save the princess." Its about game play.

    Table Tennis has NO plot at all and is just a ball bouncing a short distance! Yet somehow it is in the Olympics?
    Golf involves different hills of the same grass that you play fetch with yourself in...
    Football involves the same thing over and over...
    Checkers has almost no purpose. yet people still play it.
    Pinball has only 2 buttons and you just watch a rolling ball the whole time!

    Video games are not a "sport" (neither is golf) but that does not mean they can't involve developing skills and have enough depth to entertain somebody who has developed the skills.

    New movies largely suck; video game movies largely suck even when some of them now out perform Hollywood. Many people do not want an interactive movie that is drawn out for 10x the length of time; I know I do not.

    Zelda is as far as I'm willing to stretch it; the puzzles are fun and the premises are simple. Batman is a good game but its a slow motion ok movie I just am not willing to put my time into finish. If I want to fight against depressing situations I'll break out a mindless shooter. Better yet, do something in the real world rather than appease your humanity by proxy... your subconscious does not know the difference which is why escapes work so well as a substitute.

    I'll stop Zelda when they think we are too stupid to read, like most games.

    1. Re:WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Golf involves different hills of the same grass that you play fetch with yourself in...

      That, sir, made my morning...best description I've seen yet of that useless pastime
      'tis a pity I've neither
      a. access to my account (long boring story)
      b. Mod points..

  20. Re:who would play this crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Amidst the obvious trolling, there is a point; Zelda has become very stale with beat dungeon, get item to get to next dungeon, repeat formula. I don't know if this one fixed that issue, but I haven't seen anything indicating it has.

  21. You can't go home again by virb67 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Give it up. A new Zelda game will never recreate that experience of firing up The Legend of Zelda on your NES for the first time when you were 10 years-old.

    1. Re:You can't go home again by cfalcon · · Score: 2

      Lttp did, and Ocarina did, and Twilight Princess almost did. Just from the demo, I can tell you this game is going to rule all sorts of awesome.

    2. Re:You can't go home again by arb+phd+slp · · Score: 1

      Wind Waker definitely brought that feeling back for me. Especially given the cartoony graphics. Despite its flaws, that game felt amazing.

      LttP or OoT probably would have, except I didn't play them until a long time after they came out (OoT on Gamecube and LttP on Wii Virtual Console).

      --
      There's a perfect xkcd for my sig but I'm too lazy to look it up. sudo someone go find it.
    3. Re:You can't go home again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why is the commenter's score at 1? It's true -- you can't ever truly, 100%, re-live the past. So that feeling of playing the original NES/Famicom Zelda when you weren't even a teenager won't ever be the same as a present-day game, or even if you dust off your NES/Famicom and give it another go. So for a review site to say "hands down this is the best Zelda game ever" is pretty ballsy, especially considering that Zelda 3 has held that title for a couple decades.

      Seriously folks, if you want a true dose of said experience, bust out your old consoles and carts and do it. Don't do the emulation thing if you can avoid it; it's convenient, but the feeling is quite different when played on the real thing + TV. Helps if you have a nasty CRT too. ;-)

    4. Re:You can't go home again by mayberry42 · · Score: 1

      Give it up. A new Zelda game will never recreate that experience of firing up The Legend of Zelda on your NES for the first time when you were 10 years-old.

      Perhaps not, but then again no new games can reproduce the nostalgic effects of a 25 year old game, however good they may be. Having said that, classics do have to start somewhere. Give it time and it just may become the next A Link To The Past...or Twilight Princess.

    5. Re:You can't go home again by benhattman · · Score: 1

      That's definitely true. But maybe that's not what the adults who are interested in this game are looking for. Perhaps, they're hoping a feeling similar to jumping on the horse and riding through the plains the first time in Ocarina of Time at age 17. Or, maybe they just like to play any game that's good, and this game is likely to be good.

      It's sad we live in a world where people feel the need to drag others down. In a world teetering on the edge of a double-dip recession, where most 1st world households are at risk of losing what social status they have, why spend the energy pissing on some people's excitement for a game?

  22. Shameless plug... by braindrainbahrain · · Score: 3, Interesting
    ...but if you liked this game, and want to see more good games on the Wii, then...

    http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/320/3/0/if_you_like_zelda_2_by_dungeonboss-d4gdo3k.png

    Operation Rainfall

    1. Re:Shameless plug... by KDR_11k · · Score: 2

      Xenoblade is great but isn't the jury still out on Last Story and especially Pandora's Tower?

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  23. There's a skyward sword... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    In my pants.

    1. Re:There's a skyward sword... by deek · · Score: 1

      Yep, it's on your Wii.

  24. Started it last night... by RogueyWon · · Score: 5, Informative

    I picked up a copy yesterday and started it last night. Verdict so far? It's ok - pretty good. Heading for a 7/10 or 8/10 kind of score.

    It's difficult stepping back to Wii level graphics these days. I didn't notice the difference so much early in the console cycle, but Wii games really do look very grim indeed next to anything else around. The artwork goes some way to compensating - it's very good in places. That said, it doesn't have the really strong visual style we've seen from other games over the last few years; Ratchet & Clank, Gears of War, Dark Souls, Mirror's Edge etc have all carved out really distinctive art styles - and have done so on better hardware. Even on the Wii, Xenoblade Chronicles has had more visual impact. There's just a bit too much "generic fantasy" around Skyward Sword (which is a criticism that can be levelled at a lot of the recent Final Fantasy spin-offs from Square-Enix).

    The controls are undoubtedly better than Twilight Princess. There are occasional issues with the motion sensing refusing to register an attack at all, but they're the exception rather than the norm now. That said, I know this is a point about the Wii in general, rather than this game in particular, but I remain unconvinced that motion controls really add as much immersion as they were supposed to. There's that same "lack of connection" feeling that has always undermined motion gaming, be it on the Wii, PS Move or Kinect.

    To be honest, if Zelda has one really, overwhelmingly huge problem, it's called "Dark Souls". I know that stylistically, the games are worlds apart (Zelda being a bright, colourful fantasy, while Dark Souls shares its palette with the original Quake) - but they are very similar in gameplay style - the same mix of exploration, combat, back-tracking and problem solving. And in every respect, Dark Souls is infinitely superior; not just to Skyward Sword, but to pretty much everything else in the genre. It's a pity that the reviews focussed so much on the difficulty (insanely hard though it is), because there is a supremely awesome game in there as well - and one that took me 79 hours to beat. The game's melee combat sets the new standard for this genre, with a real and distinctive sense of weight and mass to every weapon. After that, a bit of Wii-mote waggling, even with the Plus enhancements, just feels a bit limp.

    Sorry, the text above is more negative than intended. This is a fun game. It's not kept up with the competition, but if you haven't played the competition yet, that might not matter to you.

    1. Re:Started it last night... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Amen to that...Dark Souls is my personal Game of The Year, put close to 65 hours into this game and it never got boring!

      Uncharted 3 und Skyrim were okay, but Dark Souls really delivered this year!

    2. Re:Started it last night... by WillAdams · · Score: 1

      It has however leap-frogged the competition in the one area which matters to me, gameplay / controls.

      I've had my fill of sitting and mashing buttons.

      I'm hoping to enjoy Skyward Sword until someone creates an open-ended RPG w/ full character creation / customization (a wider variety of weapons would be a nice bonus) and a persistent on-line environment that has motion controls as good as or better than Skyward Sword.

      William

      --
      Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
    3. Re:Started it last night... by RogueyWon · · Score: 1

      Erm... really, no. My whole point was that in terms of gameplay and control, Skyward Sword has fallen behind the competition.

      The biggest competition this year in this genre is Dark Souls. Not the only competition, but certainly the one that needs to be reflected upon. In terms of fish in the pond, Dark Souls is the huge, great genre-redefining megalodon.

      And believe me, Dark Souls is not about button-mashing. Button mash and die. In fact, die anyway, whether you button mash or not. But if you don't button mash, you might eventually survive. It's an incredibly impressive melee combat system, which gives you a huge toolset and makes you think hard about how you use it. Every different weapon has its own sense of weight and even shape (different strike-zones etc). Changing from a spear to an axe, for example, makes the whole combat system feel completely different.

      It is the best and most immersive melee combat system I have ever encountered. And it does not use motion controls. Skyward Sword's system uses motion control, but it is simplistic and restrictive by comparison. It's slightly better than Twilight Princess's combat system, but it is still coming down to different types of waggle (basically three of them) equating to different button presses. And you know what... at the end of the day, I'd rather just have the option of pressing a button. It's a lot more precise - and while motion control might be fun for a few minutes, if you want to keep me playing (and having fun) for multiple hours, precision matters. Imprecise controls break immersion.

      Dark Souls's melee combat system isn't quite perfect (and the ranged combat system falls even further short, though my character build meant I made only occasional use of it). I've made a couple of journal posts on the game and I take issue with its system for kicks and forward jump attacks. But it's so far ahead of anything else I've seen in the third-person exploration/combat genre that I don't think it's going to be feasible for competitors to go to release for a while without thinking about how they respond to it. Skyward Sword's release timing was unfortunate in that respect - no time to adapt to it, and Nintendo tend to be a bit pig-headed about ignoring the competition anyway (which hurts them when the competition is clearly doing it better).

    4. Re:Started it last night... by WillAdams · · Score: 1

      I find the Wii Motion Plus controls to have precise controls, and I _don't_ want control reduced to just pushing buttons and I _do_ like standing and swinging the Wii Remote, or manipulating it to pretend to use a bow (when I can't get to the range to shoot).

      The Dark Souls controls seem to not be universally praised, ``Dark Souls wants you to deal with its awkward controls.'' and reduce to just button-mashing, ``Lock on is handled with R3, you have two main attacks (light and heavy) mapped to R1 and R2 (or L1 and L2 if you use your off-hand), and a dodge roll tied to the circle button.'' (from http://www.damnlag.com/dark-souls-review/ ).

      I'm glad that there are multiple games, w/ different control systems, and I _really_ hope that both games are successful enough that one day (hopefully soon) there's a game for the Wii U which is a full-fledged RPG, w/ compleat character generation, an excellent story line, open-ended play (w/ the ability to add to it via downloadable content), network play (a persistent, multi-player experience would be great), a wide variety of weaponry, and motion plus controls.

      William

      --
      Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
    5. Re:Started it last night... by RogueyWon · · Score: 1

      Dark Souls controls are awkward in two areas - the button combos needed for kick attacks/forward leap attacks and the lock-on controls. The latter have, allegedly, been fixed in a patch that released today.

      And no, honestly, no, it is not button mashing. Seriously. Watch some basic gameplay videos. Each attack takes a long time - even with a fairly fast 1 handed weapon. If you launch even 1 attack more than you ought to against most of the game's enemies, they will punish you for it brutally (instant death in some cases).

      And yes, there are two basic attacks, but at the push of a button you can switch between 1 and 2 handed mode - with any weapon in the game - which completely changes those attacks. You also have the aforementioned kick attacks (which do no damage but force some enemies to break their guard) and the forward leap attacks (which are very powerful and allow slower characters to close a lot of distance, but need a lot of room and leave you highly exposed to counter-attacks). And this is before you even get into the block, parry and shield bash systems. The review you've highlighted gives no indication that the reviewer has played past the game's opening sections. I suspect he gave up very early and blamed the controls (understandable - this is a very hard game - but not forgivable if you're going to publish a proper review).

      I do mostly enjoy Skyward Sword (though I have cooled on it a bit since my earlier post), but having played both games, I am very, very certain that Dark Souls is better. Not just by a little, but by a lot. And in every conceivable category.

      You won't see that game you want on the Wii-U. Everything you just listed - character generation, decent story, open ended play and network play - is pretty much anathema to the Nintendo philosophy.

      Skyward Sword is fine and well, but really, if Zelda wants to remain relevant, they've got to go back and rethink it from first principles now. Because in its current shape, it cannot remain relevant any longer.

    6. Re:Started it last night... by WillAdams · · Score: 1

      I think we mean different things by ``button-mashing'' --- to me it's any activity which happens when one presses a button, to you, I believe that it's wildly pressing a button, and Dark Souls isn't button-mashing since it requires strategizing and planning of which button to press when. I want motion controls. I want to stand and pretend to use weapons (and practice using weapons which I do use --- Wii Sports Resort's archery has actually helped me improve my focus when using my recurve and horse bows) --- I'd dearly love to have an RPG where one controls the pace of one's movement by walking in place on the Wii Balance Board and can dodge blows by leaning to one side or other.

      Fortunately, Nintendo isn't the only company doing games for the Wii, or the Wii U. Already for the Wii, Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga had the character generation and open-ended play and network connectivity, Red Steel 2 the visual appearance and decent story, so I think there's some justification in my hope.

      Skyward Sword will hopefully validate the idea of more games in these veins, hopefully games combining them.

      William

      --
      Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
  25. Re:Europe first? by Cimexus · · Score: 1

    Actually what's really weird is that Japan is last. You know, Nintendo being Japanese and all.

    Most games just get released for Japan & US first (i.e. NTSC countries), followed by Europe/Australia/NZ (PAL countries) shortly after. Which makes sense - they are two different versions of the game disc. This release schedule is odd though because it's releasing in some PAL territories first (Europe), then an NTSC (US), then another PAL and another NTSC (Australia, Japan)...

  26. Re:who would play this crap by gordo3000 · · Score: 1

    why such a feeling? even the second zelda didn't require you to go through the dungeons in order, but doing so would make life easier. I know, as a 6 year old, it was hard to do something else, but when I did it recently, it wasn't that hard to do it out of order....

  27. Re:who would play this crap by gordo3000 · · Score: 1

    which game would you buy for your kids? zelda was one of the original "great" games, next to final fantasy. and for kids, it's a great introduction to story telling games, which are becoming more and more rare now.

  28. Twilight Hack by tepples · · Score: 2

    You didn't think Twilight Princess was better than Link to the Past?

    Back in the Wii Menu 3.x days, Twilight Princess let you install the Homebrew Channel and start Snes9x GX to run the copy of A Link to the Past that you dumped with your Retrode adapter. (In 4.x, the go-to games are the Lego series and Super Smash Bros. Brawl if for some reason you can't use Bannerbomb 4.0, Bannerbomb 4.2, or LetterBomb 4.3.)

  29. How do I dumped Wii game? by tepples · · Score: 1

    With a few bucks and a decent PC and you can play in HD.

    So I have a PC and a Wii, and I've letterbombed it to install Homebrew Channel. What software would I need to run on the Wii to copy a game disc to a PC to run it in Dolphin?

    1. Re:How do I dumped Wii game? by sexconker · · Score: 1

      A few PC DVD drives are capable of reading the Wii discs, but odds are you don't have one that is.

      You need a USB loader channel and either an external hard drive, or a SD card with enough free space to hold the image. Dump the image and physically move it to your PC.

      Or you could just download it from someone else who's done the same.

      A tutorial that covers all you need (and much more):
      http://gwht.wikidot.com/

    2. Re:How do I dumped Wii game? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's much easier to just download the ISO from TPB. However, if you want to stay legal and make your own ISO, you can do it. The easiest way would just be to go ahead and finish softmodding the Wii. You need to install cIOS, and at least an ISO ripper, but you might as well just install a USB loader. I like USB loader GX. It can rip the games for you. You'll also need a USB drive with enough room to hold the game, which would be about 4.3GB.

  30. Aesthetic, adventure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The aesthetic feels a lot more nuanced and inspired, and overall looks a lot less generic. It's also an adventure game and not a tournament.

  31. Re:Europe first? by Tmann72 · · Score: 1

    I fail to see how releasing it in Europe first is either A) Hippie or B) Liberal

  32. Played it the last few days by VickiM · · Score: 1

    It's a good game, but was over-hyped. A lot like most games in a series, I supposed. But, hey, my save file hasn't yet corrupted itself and there aren't weird glitches making people spin for no reason, so I'm happy. It's harder than previous Zelda games, which I am starting to appreciate, and I'm getting the hang of having to actually fight the monsters instead of just hitting a button over and over again. I agree, though, that it's not as pretty as I had hoped, and I say that compared to just other Wii games. It's more a stylistic thing than a pixels thing, for me. I preferred Wind Waker's visuals.