SS is bland and repetitive, the only familiar character is the Goron who isn't in it very much. Yes, the time shift stones are quite a neat puzzle mechanic. Just completed the pirate ship and got my sword upgraded which was a chore, the boss was quite fun (finally a reason for those skyward strikes!).
I'm over 50 hours into the game so I hope that's enough to qualify my opinion.
With a mere three main areas, a lack of interesting new characters, a lack of well-loved familiar old characters SS is a let down.
I've always felt that there is more to Zelda than just puzzles, the sense of exploration and discovery has always been a big part of it for me. The sense of magic was severely lacking in SS and the sheer number of nintendo fans who have not bothered to complete it is testament to that. I really hope this "incredible" ending I've heard about is worth it...
Also; Yes, Mario sunshine had horrible camera angles, really it did. I almost NEVER had to adjust the camera angle in Mario 64, I spent a lot of Sunshine as a shadow behind buildings or adjusting the camera manually to try and make it playable. That kind of slackness in a MARIO game? Unforgivable.
Too much planning, and you'll never get anything done.
Karl Pilkington.
