Writer's Workshop General Chat Thread

[TheLlama]

Skyward Sword, that's what you were surprised at (or did you mean TWW?)...

Skyward Sword has a large overworld, but it is still unfathomably boring and bland as far as overworlds go. If they'd only made the clouds more beautiful and cloud-like or something...

[Kelleo]

Skyward Sword, that's what you were surprised at (or did you mean TWW?)...

Skyward Sword has a large overworld, but it is still unfathomably boring and bland as far as overworlds go. If they'd only made the clouds more beautiful and cloud-like or something...

Maybe to you. I thought the overworld was amazing, as did most other fans. The game was given perfect scores by over 30 reviewers and critics and many more still gave it really high scores. It also won Wii Game of the Year as well as Overall Game of the Year.

And the clouds looked like clouds to me. Also, are you saying that you didn't like it just because you thought the clouds looked ugly? Sorry, but that's just stupid.

[TheLlama]

I don't give a squat about what critics say :P

I didn't like the overworld because it was bland. The sky was cool, by all means, but it wasn't interesting. No, me disliking the clouds means me disliking the clouds (and thus the Sky), nothing more. The level designs in the temples were okay, but not interesting. The level designs otherwise, were not interesting. They didn't give me a feel of adventure. The story, the plot, the whole progression of the game, was to me bland and formulaic. FI was probably the least interesting companion in a Zelda game, and that's even factoring in Navi and her constant "hey, listen!"

Don't misunderstand - the game was good, maybe even great at a few, select moments. But that's about it. Score-wise, I'd give it, perhaps, 6.5/10

[LightningTopaz]

In Fi's defense, she did have some nice theme music.

I wish they could've done more with the harp--something like the ocarina in past games. Instead of just sweeping chords, why couldn't you pluck out individual notes too?

[Kelleo]

I don't give a squat about what critics say :P

I didn't like the overworld because it was bland. The sky was cool, by all means, but it wasn't interesting. No, me disliking the clouds means me disliking the clouds (and thus the Sky), nothing more. The level designs in the temples were okay, but not interesting. The level designs otherwise, were not interesting. They didn't give me a feel of adventure. The story, the plot, the whole progression of the game, was to me bland and formulaic. FI was probably the least interesting companion in a Zelda game, and that's even factoring in Navi and her constant "hey, listen!"

Don't misunderstand - the game was good, maybe even great at a few, select moments. But that's about it. Score-wise, I'd give it, perhaps, 6.5/10

I disagree entirely. I loved every dungeon and every area. In fact, this is the first Zelda game I've ever played where I thought this. The entire overworld was amazing and full of life (well except for Lanayru Desert, but then it bursts with life when you hit a Timeshift Stone) and it was believable. I didn't care that the game was a little linear. The dungeons were also amazing, though I did think they were a little too short. But I still had a strong feeling of adventure and I just wanted to keep exploring. The story pulled me in. I never wanted to quit playing, even to go to sleep. I really liked Fi too. Her singing and dancing is beautiful and I like her design as well. She's rather robotic, but somehow, I like that about her.

The game is not perfect, as no game is, but I still give it a 10/10.

[TheLlama]

I remember when I went back to play Twilight Princess a few weeks ago. I felt like I was in an entirely different world quality-wise. Ah, good times, good times.

And then i replayed Majoras Mask around Christmas. That game was so effin' brilliant. Darkest Zelda game so far, and boy, did it do it well!

[Red]

Gah, got such a load of homework :/

What's going on guys?

I'm planning on updating my fic by the end of this week, for those wondering ;)

[Kelleo]

I remember when I went back to play Twilight Princess a few weeks ago. I felt like I was in an entirely different world quality-wise. Ah, good times, good times.

And then i replayed Majoras Mask around Christmas. That game was so effin' brilliant. Darkest Zelda game so far, and boy, did it do it well!

I agree that TP has a very nice overworld as well. I don't think MM was that dark though. TP was way darker, imo.

[ectoBiologist]

i got a load of homework too.

well, i'll see if i can update mine tonight. with the pace i'm going at, i think i can make it just in time for people to read and nominate my newly updated fic. :D

[The Jingster]

I actually think Majora's Mask is the darkest Zelda game by far, not just because of what it mentions and does, but what it implies. The fact that the gibidos have 'hopes' and 'dreams', albeit pretty lame ones (My dream is to have a bottle of milk :B), makes it feel weird when my first reaction is to just hack and slash them. There's also the outright destruction which the mask was doing, which makes him one of the most evil villains in my opinion. Where most villains wanted to rule the world(hyrule) the mask wanted to destroy it and everything on it. There are so many other things about it which freak me out, and I enjoy them.

[TheLlama]

@Kelleo; I guess that depends on how you look at it :P Yeah, Twilight Princess was dark, but MM has very dark overall themes, and is a world filled with characters full of despair and hopelessness. Kafei and Anju's quest offer a great deal of these particular themes. And then there's the fact that every time you manage to do something good, you have to reverse it through time travel. The Stone Tower and its analogies to the Tower of Babel. The backstory revolving around Majora itself. The sense of looming inevitability. And so on.

(what @Chaosj2; says about the villain is also very important to consider)

[Kelleo]

I actually think Majora's Mask is the darkest Zelda game by far, not just because of what it mentions and does, but what it implies. The fact that the gibidos have 'hopes' and 'dreams', albeit pretty lame ones (My dream is to have a bottle of milk :B), makes it feel weird when my first reaction is to just hack and slash them. There's also the outright destruction which the mask was doing, which makes him one of the most evil villains in my opinion. Where most villains wanted to rule the world(hyrule) the mask wanted to destroy it and everything on it. There are so many other things about it which freak me out, and I enjoy them.

This was the only thing I felt was dark about MM. Nothing else.

TP, on the other hand, had a bunch of freaky stuff going on. Everyone turning into ghosts in the Twilight, the overall atmosphere of the Twilight itself, that vision Lanayru created while talking to Link in the one scene, Midna turning into that freakish monster when she used the Fused Shadows, and also, Zant. Just...Zant.

I was rather bored by MM's plot. Some stupid Skull Kid is making a moon with a face fall. Woop-dee-doo. TP's plot? Ganondorf is using a psycho Twili to cover the land in Twilight, suck away the light from the Light Spirits, and turn everyone into ghosts. ...Just...holy freaking crap.

[TheLlama]

But the Skull Kid did it because he was once betrayed by his friends; the giants. This naturally created resentment in him. Majora's Mask amplified this, used his dark feelings. I find it a wonderful exploration into the realm of negative emotions and self-destruction; how one small, negative thought can end up destroying who you are, if there's no one around to take care of your heart. And there wasn't, not for the Skull Kid. Ganondorf taking over the world is nothing new (but I agree that Zant is good, and his story explores many of the same themes that the Skull Kid does), and in many ways I would consider OoT darker than TP because there Ganondorf actually had seven years where all of Hyrule was subjugated and taken over by him. Seven years where the people of Hyrule suffered. What TP had was a more personal story, you saw more of Link's close friends. OoT was darker in the grander scheme than TP.

But yeah, back to Majora's Mask. Majora was a villain who wanted nothing more than the destruction of the world. Even if the moon was stylistically poorly done, it doesn't detract from that (but personally I liked how it just had that ominous grin all the time).

Oh, and don't get me started on Lon Lon Ranch and that side quest. So brilliant, so eloquently done!

Basically, I find Majora's Mask to be so enjoyable because there's so much stuff between the lines. The hopelessness that plagues the people; a hopelessness that is a product of something else than the villain itself. The Gorman brothers is another great example of this.

[The Jingster]

Personally, I don't think the moon was grinning, I think it was a grimace, knowing that soon it would be destroyed

[Kelleo]

But the skull kid did it because he was once betrayed by his friends; the giants. This naturally created resentment in him. Majora's Mask amplified this, used his dark feelings. I find it a wonderful exploration into the realm of negative emotions and self-destruction; how one small, negative thought can end up destroying who you are, if there's no one around to take care of your heart. And there wasn't, not for the Skull Kid. Ganondorf taking over the world is nothing new, and in many ways I would consider OoT darker than TP because there Ganondorf actually had seven years where all of Hyrule was subjugated and taken over by him. Seven years where the people of Hyrule suffered. What TP had was a more personal story, you saw more of Link's close friends. OoT was darker in the grander scheme than TP.

But yeah, back to Majora's Mask. Majora was a villain who wanted nothing more than the destruction of the world. Even if the moon was stylistically poorly done, it doesn't detract from that (but personally I liked how it just had that ominous grin all the time).

Oh, and don't get me started on Lon Lon Ranch and that side quest. So brilliant, so eloquently done!

Funny, I never cared one bit about Skull Kid's feelings. I was surprised to hear that he was abandoned by his friends, but I hardly felt bad for him. He got friends in Tatl and Tael, yet he still decided to steal from people.

And I never said that Ganondorf taking over the world was dark. I was referring more to how he was trying to do it.

Oh, and you mean Romani Ranch. Lon Lon Ranch is in OoT.

Still, I stand by my opinion that TP is the darkest Zelda game. Nothing is going to change that anytime soon.