Just beat Skyward Sword, my thoughts (and SPOILERS)

[archbrix]

I just beat it recently, and while I wouldn't give it a "10" (keep in mind there's only about five games in history that I would), it certainly deserves no lower than a "9". I was very satisfied with it and I really enjoyed the story and the ending, as well as the majority of the puzzles.

Having to revisit areas over and over got a bit tedious, and was disappointing simply because of the lack of variety in the places you go. However, many of the revisits proved to be very fun experiences (the Sandship, for example), and only a few parts of the game felt like unnecessary fetch-quests.

The idea of Hylia and Demise essentially being immortal gods that are reincarnated again and again as Zelda and Ganon(dorf) and the spirit of the hero who intervenes in the endless cycle was a great way to set the timeline; I really liked that.

The music was among the best the series has to offer, both in orchestral quality and score. And while the graphics weren't amazing, I still really liked the style; if only it ran in 720p with improved textures it would've looked fantastic.

The combat was good; I loved how you had to strike certain ways in order to prevail, but it was still less than perfect. There were times I'd want to strike from one direction, but moving my hand to position my sword for said strike would first cause a strike from the other direction, punishing me in certain battles. Also, while the motion was great for combat for the most part, not having a button sword attack for something simple like, say, grass cutting, was sorely missed.

I definitely like the original Zelda and A Link to the Past the best, and probably like Ocarina and Majora better than Skyward as well, but I'd likely put it next (kinda hard to judge right now as I'm still riding the high).

Also, I really enjoyed Ghirahim as the antagonist (that dance he does at the end around Zelda's body had me cracking up!), and I loved the final battle with Akuma... err... Demise.