I really hate to say this, but I don’t feel Skyward Sword is a very good game.
In fact, it’s my least favorite 3D Zelda, which is a shame, as it had SO MUCH potential.

The opening of the game, while slow as molasses, had some potential in the cutscene department, teasing the beginning of a more involved plot. But the second you go off to search for Zelda, that feeling is gone until the ending cutscene, which is a real shame.

The overworld, aside from the City of Skyloft itself, feels incredibly empty. While “Not since the Great Ocean in Wind Waker has a Zelda game felt so open and alive” may be true, the open part is the problem here.
I didn’t like the Great Ocean because it felt tedious to get anywhere for the majority of the game. And while the world above the clouds does improve a lot on that department, it also has way less interesting things to explore.

And while above they have the great emptyness, the areas on the ground don’t feel like a Zelda overworld with lots of things to explore and find, but more like dungeons that lack roofs. Some might like that, but I’m missing the freedom of going off on my own.

Straying into Gerudo Valley as young Link, just to see whats there, then gliding – hanging off a chicken – to a heartpiece just to end up in Lake Hylia is a kind of experience that was severely lacking in Skyward Sword.

There’s also a few questionable monster/character designs in the game. These are entirely personal taste, so I won’t harp on them for long. I do want to mention how incredibly stupid the Imprisoned looks the second he grows legs. When you see him in Link’s dream without any hint of arms or legs he actually looks pretty cool IMO.

Anyways, the by far biggest gripe I have with Skyward Sword is that it thinks it’s playerbase is rock stupid.
Yes, I realize the game was made for kids.
But by making Phai the developers created a plague that was a bazillion times more annoying than Navi ever was.

Enter a new area? “Master, I’ll tell you everything you need to know. Yes, you just saw what you need in the introductory cutscene, but please let me repeat what you could just see onscreen in as many words and textboxes as possible.”

Have a cutscene? “Master, let me give you a retelling of what that person just said to you, just spelled out in a way that even your non-existend dog would know what to do next.”

Wii-Mote battery low? “Master, let me beep very annoyingly until you give up and press the hint button. So I can come up and tell you in the s l o w e s t p o s s i b l e
u n s k i p p a b a b l e t e x t s p e e d that your Wii-Remote is about to run out. And with about to run out I mean in one to three hours of playtime. Oh, and did I mention the beep will return the second you leave the area? What, there’s a symbol on the bottom of the screen to inform you about the battery life? Nah, I don’t think you understand that. ”

Solved a puzzle that shows you in a cutscene exactly what happened and really everybody realizes what they have to do next? “Master, I am not entirely sure about this, but it seems that Z just happened. We should try using X on the Z that just happened at Y. To get there, pass through A and B. Which is the only way to go anyways.”

Worst. Sentient. Sword. EVER.
You know, in Baldur’s Gate 2 the description of the talking blade Lilacor jokes about how most adventurers can’t take it’s rants for long and throw it away.
That’s how I started to feel towards slightly after being about halfway through Skyward Sword.

It doesn’t help that the game gives you the exact description for every little collectable every first time you get it in a session either. I already didn’t like that Twilight Princess but that game at least had a likeable companion that knew when to shut up.

Anyways, even after this entirely way to long rant on Skyward Sword, I do not think it is a bad game. It’s just very bleh compared to most other Zelda games. And had a lot of great ideas not fully thought through. Missed opportunities always hurt alot.

That said, I still enjoy letting Link fall onto the ground after a nice, long skydive every once in a while. That animation just never gets old.

Also, how the f*** did I manage to write THIS much? Feels good to have that rant out of my system though.