Topic: Skyward Sword Complete, Aiming for Worldwide Release

[NWR_Karlie]

Aonuma confirmed that they were working on the overall balance during an E3 interview.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/27024

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is complete, and the development team is working with Miyamoto to fine-tune the balance, said Eiji Aonuma in an interview during E3 2011 with Famitsu. This process is taking some time due to the volume of it, and they have not yet had time to fully play out every part. Non-English translations are in progress as they hope for a simultaneous worldwide launch later this year.

The interview also discusses many of the story details in the game. The beginning of the plot has a different approach to the previous games. Zelda is a childhood friend of Link's in Skyloft, the floating city where he and his classmates attend the same boarding school. The town and its people are a focus of game events that often link to the main story. Aonuma compares this to Majora's Mask. Flying on birds is a staple of Skyloft, and the characters there know nothing of the mainland below. Link's rare red bird is special, since the other birds are unable to travel to the mainland.

New items will appear earlier in the game to make it more interesting. You need a certain basic set of items to navigate in the world, and that's why the unusual items usually come later. This time though, it was changed so you will be able to make use of items such as the the boomerang-beetle early in the game.

Ghiraham, the boss seen in the E3 2011 demo, is an important character who you will meet many times. He is similar to Dark Link in that he can see right through Link's moves and swinging your sword widly won't help you.

Lastly, the birth of the Master Sword is part of Skyward Sword, and the story links with Ocarina of Time and Ganondorf's appearance. 

The news of the game's volume and the links with Ocarina of Time are promising, as previously Miyamoto has said that the future games need to be fun and less challenging to appeal to casual gamers, and in particular, Zelda needs to be more accessible. Historically, Nintendo have been reluctant to reveal Link's timeline and how the games relate to each other.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

Fascinating. With that, I think I ought to avoid any further details about the game. Must go in blank slate.

A simultaneous worldwide release is good news. Nintendo rarely does that, but this is the kind of game that needs it.

[King of Twitch]

future games need to be fun and less challenging to appeal to casual gamers

I think my head is going to internally combust.

[MegaByte]

Things have changed a bit though. This was recently said in Iwata Asks:

Aonuma: We have tended to lower the difficulty of recent Zelda games because we want everyone to reach the goal, like by placing healing items right before a boss battle and so on. But Miyamoto-san has been complaining that without anything to get stuck on, the games don't stick with you as memories.
Iwata: The reason we originally put the Super Guides in New Super Mario Bros. Wii wasn't so anyone could easily beat the game, but on the contrary, it was so that even if we made it difficult but rewarding, lots of people could play it to the end.
Aonuma: Right. This game doesn't lower the difficulty level of the original, but it does offer guidance in the form of Hint Movies so everyone can reach the goal.

[ShyGuy]

Can we get a second confirmation that it's releasing in North America? Can never be sure with Nintendo games these days...

[Ian Sane]

Getting stuck usually has stuck with me as bad memories.  Like I remember it as "that bullshit game where I get stuck on this stupid impossible part".  A feeling of accomplishment is probably a better way to look at it.  You don't want a game to be frustratingly hard but you do want some sense of danger to provide a thrill and some challenge to provide a rewarding feeling.

With Zelda it's usually some part where I got this item and finally got to explore a certain area that sticks with me the most.  Or some foreshadowing that later paid off.  In LttP I think of Blind the Thief because he gets name dropped WAY at the beginning of the game and the weird dude with the sign because it takes a while until you can solve it so the whole time I was thinking "I wonder what I need to do to interact with that sign guy."

[King of Twitch]

Can we get a second confirmation that it's releasing in North America? Can never be sure with Nintendo games these days...

[Ceric]

Can we get a second confirmation that it's releasing in North America? Can never be sure with Nintendo games these days...

I actually have that game.

[NWR_Karlie]

Aonuma: We have tended to lower the difficulty of recent Zelda games

No way! The Zelda DS games are the hardest games I've ever played.

[4-D]

I don't see how this will be more accessible to the casual market if the entire overworld is a giant puzzle. From my experience, people tend to give up on Zelda when they get stuck in a dungeon puzzle, and if even the overworld is now this way as Miyamoto has mentioned (say goodbye to taking a break from dungeons to just explore the overworld?), won't that be a barrier of entry? Unless they implement some kind of super guide or hint system like in Ocarina of Time 3D.

[Ceric]

I don't see how this will be more accessible to the casual market if the entire overworld is a giant puzzle. From my experience, people tend to give up on Zelda when they get stuck in a dungeon puzzle, and if even the overworld is now this way as Miyamoto has mentioned (say goodbye to taking a break from dungeons to just explore the overworld?), won't that be a barrier of entry? Unless they implement some kind of super guide or hint system like in Ocarina of Time 3D.

You can have the whole thing being puzzles but just light puzzles.

[Luigi Dude]

I don't see how this will be more accessible to the casual market if the entire overworld is a giant puzzle. From my experience, people tend to give up on Zelda when they get stuck in a dungeon puzzle, and if even the overworld is now this way as Miyamoto has mentioned (say goodbye to taking a break from dungeons to just explore the overworld?), won't that be a barrier of entry? Unless they implement some kind of super guide or hint system like in Ocarina of Time 3D.

You just answered your own question.  Like with NSMBW, Galaxy 2 and DKCR, the Super Guide is whats allowing Nintendo to start making their mainstream series more challenging again since they're giving less experienced gamers a way to skip difficult parts so they can keep playing instead of quitting because they got stuck.

[broodwars]

I don't see how this will be more accessible to the casual market if the entire overworld is a giant puzzle. From my experience, people tend to give up on Zelda when they get stuck in a dungeon puzzle, and if even the overworld is now this way as Miyamoto has mentioned (say goodbye to taking a break from dungeons to just explore the overworld?), won't that be a barrier of entry? Unless they implement some kind of super guide or hint system like in Ocarina of Time 3D.

You just answered your own question.  Like with NSMBW, Galaxy 2 and DKCR, the Super Guide is whats allowing Nintendo to start making their mainstream series more challenging again since they're giving less experienced gamers a way to skip difficult parts so they can keep playing instead of quitting because they got stuck.

From what I've heard, though, Ocarina of Time's 3DS version has a pretty poor implementation of the Super Guide.  I don't see someone just up and leaving a dungeon and running back to Kokiri Village or the Temple of Time for the solution just because they got stuck in a room.  If that's the sort of thing they're putting in Skyward Sword, they might as well not have it at all.

Personally, I don't give a damn anymore if the casuals have issues playing this game.  After all these years of the Wii, I'm sick of hearing about how these people "have it so hard" learning to play modern games.  When I was five, I learned how to play more cryptic and punishing games than we make today, so frankly today's casuals have it pretty frickin' easy by comparison.  I am troubled on this issue of the Overworld being "one big puzzle" because of the repercussions on exploration, though.  I'm concerned it'll make the world feel very contrived and hamper player freedom/feel of discovery.

[Luigi Dude]

From what I've heard, though, Ocarina of Time's 3DS version has a pretty poor implementation of the Super Guide.  I don't see someone just up and leaving a dungeon and running back to Kokiri Village or the Temple of Time for the solution just because they got stuck in a room.  If that's the sort of thing they're putting in Skyward Sword, they might as well not have it at all.

Ocarina of Time 3DS was a quickly made graphically enhanced port that was outsourced to a third party developer to make.  I'd imagine that a brand new Zelda made by the main team at Nintendo, who's had the last 100 years to make it, will have it implemented much better.

[Ceric]

...
I am troubled on this issue of the Overworld being "one big puzzle" because of the repercussions on exploration, though.  I'm concerned it'll make the world feel very contrived and hamper player freedom/feel of discovery.

I'm actually on the opposite side of that spectrum.  I think it will actually drive me to explore and give me a feel of accomplishment.  Especially if the give me carrots like the Lore entries in Metroid Prime Series.  I went through and got most of the scan entries.  What I enjoyed most about the game.

I do think that statement though is a little misleading since we know already that Link can fly so it may amount to something you can do but totally optional since you can just hop on the bird and go.

[NWR_Neal]

OoT 3D's use of the Super Guide is amazing.