True, if we were discussing 6 hour campaigns in cookie-cutter shooters... not 50+ hour epics like Zelda.  Unless we're talking about the Final Fantasy series.

What people feel about one game may not be what others feel about it. So it boils down to the developers intention. Their crowd.

This game's linearity totally destroyed the experience for me. There is no such thing as choice in Zelda games anymore. SS was the second Zelda game I had no will to finish (ww was the first). Boring start, boring NPCs, boring dungeons, boring enemies, boring gameplay, etc. As much as it hurts me to say: its just a bad game.

I realize that the article doesn't mention sales at all, but that is what I am going to talk about. The thread title made me think of sales before I opened the thread.

I went looking for the sales data on the Zelda games. The first Zelda released on a platform always sells the best. Always. This is true for both consoles and handhelds. If there is a third, it always sells less than the second too. I guess what I am saying, is that Skyward Sword's sales do not worry me one bit about the Zelda franchise. I think Nintendo can keep doing what it has been with Zelda and be just fine.

However, I think Nintendo can do better with that second Zelda game in the generation. The way to do that is to completely change it up. Do one 3D and one 2D. It worked great with Mario, why not Zelda? You know the fans will eat it up, Nintendo. Do it. C'mon. Do it.

This thread gives me a good excuse to post this "review" of Skyward Sword from RedLetterMedia's new game review series of sorts...

Edit:  Dammit, won't embed.  Here's the link, if anyone can embed it feel free to do so.

http://redlettermedia.com/game-station-2-0-legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword/#more-1546

I was extremely sick of flying around by the end of this game.

Besides for that, I loved it!

I am not really sure what you mean. Skyward Sword DID evolve. It's quite a departure from past Zelda games.

The pacing issues are not a problem that Ocarina of Time, Link to the Past, or Majora's Mask had. These are issues with Gamecube and Wii Zelda games only; and have little to do with needing to evolve.

The problem is that while the gameplay is genuinely different with 2D and 3D Mario; when it comes to Zelda (Adventure of Link aside), it is just a more limited version of the same gameplay.

i want the next Zelda to just be link waking up to a nice sunny day. he looks out the window and see the happy people being happy and then all hell brakes lose! it all goes black until Link opens his eyes and looks up in the dark sky above with ash (not ash from pokemon) floating around. he sits up and looks around and sees the his city completely destroyed and empty of life.

Link is hurt and you needs to fill his heart containers. you have three containers and only one is half full. you start walking around looking for hearts but link is slow as he is hurt. you can move around broken objects and find hearts and other loot. you find a heart piece and keep on looking for more but then you get attacked! quick find something to defend yourself with! a plank or whatever, pick it up and kill that the thing!

this city/village is on an open field. find a sword and shield before you go out to find out what the hell is happening!

i would love it if they added hunting in the game like hunting dear, rabbits or birds for food and fishing of course.

don't hold my hand as i want it too take me a while before i figure out what to do! Nintendo wants to appeal to a wider audience yet they seem to have shrunk it instead :-/

I actually just finished SS yesterday!
Overall, it is one awesome game. If you are gonna look at details too judge the game then you are gonna miss what was special about Skyword Sword.
Yes, there`s the old finish 3 stages to move along; find this item to go to the next area and replay that area parts. Honestly, to me, those were the things where SS didn`t touch as structure goes.

BUT, even here SS offers a twist: when having to repeat some stages who wasn`t surprised by what you had to do then? I honestly thought they were greatly done. The only thing i would change would be to leave one of the repititions per area and put them in in replacement for a second run. Just to give it a little taste and make the game not that long.

My biggest regret is actually that Nintendo didn`t take some of the best things it gave the game and took them a step further. There are moments "out of this world" in the game that would make for a great piece of ambience and discovery if explored more. In those special moments the old Zelda item tunes did ruin the experience. An experience, btw, that was embelished by the game`s visuals.

Also, like no other Zelda, there`s more emotion displayed than ever before.
As the article mentioned, Lanaryu desert was just awesome: the music in the background, the shade of the clouds passing through.
Some cutscenes made all the difference.
The end was pretty awesome and diversified!