I loved it.

Here is what I believe is the perfect zelda formula:

Good Music: Skyward Sword was a serious low point, in fact Skyward Sword and both of the DS games had some really weak music. It's no where near the golden standard that this series is known for. Music can really make or break a game, and is one of my favorite parts of Zelda games, get Koji Kondo back on the job. He is the best video game composer of all time, and his absence from SS was very apparent.

It has to be big: My favorite Zelda game at least, are the ones that are just huge. I.E. Wind Waker, Link to the past, Link's awakening, etc. Zelda is supposed to be a grand adventure, in fact, that is the most important part of the series. When OOT was released, the shear scope of hyrule field, and the amount of little places to explore blew people away, that is why it is so highly regarded. The next Zelda needs to be big. Skyward Sword was a step in the wrong direction, the lack of exploration really hurt it. My personal favorite is Wind Waker, all the little islands, pirate outposts, Windfall island, treasure maps, and fairy shrines made the world feel living and breathing. This is the core of Zelda.

Combat: Combat really needs to be expanded upon, lets face it, combat in zelda games hasn't changed much. Skyward Sword was a good idea in theory, but in practice, battling became a chore. I think it needs to be reinvented, make Link a little more of a Bad-A. A combat system ala the arkham games might work. Right now the combat formula has become stale. Shield up, wait til strike, slash, shield up, etc.

Dungeons: The one thing I can say about Skyward Sword is that the dungeons were the best I had played. Ancient Cistern is my favorite Zelda dungeon of all time, and the sand ship was extraordinary as well. I myself am a fan of bigger, longer dungeons, but I think that there should also be side dungeons scattered that you may or may not be able to access. These dungeons aren't unnecessary, but they would really add to the adventure. Imagine finishing a big dungeon, then going out into the over world to explore, only to find a small cave, you enter, complete some puzzles, kill some baddies, and then get a small item that may be helpful, but not needed to beat the game.

Story: Good stories in games are the future. A good narrative really pushes the tale forward, and creates excitement and motivation. Why not try and make a really good story? Majora's Mask and Wind Waker succeeded in having riveting narratives, but I want another level. Why not introduce new characters, side villains, and maybe, I don't know, even a death? I am not expecting a super mature narrative, but look at cartoons like Avatar, and Korra. They operate within guidelines and still manage to spin an excellent yarn. There is no reason Zelda can't do the same.

Art Style: I am extremely biased towards Celda, I loved wind waker's art style, and if it were up to me, the new zelda would have it, but I understand that is not what everyone wants, I just want to make sure that the new art style stays distinctly zelda. TP IMO looked a little generic, and unzeldalike. I think they can use a more mature tone, and still make it feel like zelda, just look at OOT.

The problem most people have had with recent Zelda games has not been that they were bad games, so much that in order to be accessible to players of all ages they have become more linear. Which for a series like Zelda that wasn't always such or at least gave more sequence breaking options then are usually presented in modern Zelda games. Combine this with the fact that games like Skyrim, Mass Effect and other more open sandbox type games are out there and the traditional Zelda style of leading players to dungeons and power ups comes off weak.

With the changes made to the overworld in Skyward Sword, I suspect the designers know this and added all that fluff on the ground as a way to make it feel different outside of the dungeons but until they actually give the player the options without trying to hand hold them, people will continue to look down on the Zelda games as on trick ponies.

It's weird, people complaining about revisiting some areas of the game world... in my book this is a huge PLUS (if executed well). It's so much harder to design than just good looking throwaway levels, and really captures one essential Zelda feeling: Anticipation. Remember ALttP? There were always areas that you could not reach yet, but that looked so damn promising... Skyward Sword has tons of that.

I don't know if Nintendo can ever satisfy people again with a Zelda game. Whatever they do, reactions are all over the place. Best, worst, deep, childish, boring, hard, amazing graphics, no challenge, rehash, too different, unique, no voice work, mature, all ages.

My stance is, I respect the artist and his vision. I've loved most Zelda games, and the balance between "similar" and "new" was mostly perfect. My only wishes are:
- don't outsource Zelda again - the Capcom parts were uninspired
- stick to your own ideas, don't try to please the internet, stay weird
- don't westernize / maturize the series
- no voice work

I certainly didnt hate Skyward Sword but it remains the only Zelda game I havent finished and have no desire to finish (which is pretty sad when you're a big fan of a series).

For me it was the exploration that was really lacking in SS, the game had a volcano area, a desert area and a forest area... that you revisited. My memory is a little hazy as its been a while but I remember thinking the game was a little laughable aswell. There were numerous times were the answers to huge mysteries were just handed to you on a plate. Wasnt there something about a robot that could never be found then suddenly you find it? I could be wrong there.

But all in all I didnt really enjoy the game and it makes me sad to say it :(

Loved it, joint 3rd Fav Zelda game with Twilight Princess behind OoT and ALttP

I certainly didn't hate Skyward Sword. In some ways it was an outstanding game, but it had some flaws and I think they are the reason why it's not quickly grouped among the greatest games of all time, which is what we expect of Zelda. For me the problems were:

-The art style. Cute graphics don't feel as epic as more realistic graphics. If the loftwings looked like the bird Gandolf rode in LOTR it would have been way cooler than muppet-birds with big round beaks.
-Motion Controls. I too had major issues with calibration. This was fixed when I purchased a built-in motion+ for my WiiU and it was like night and day better, but with the dongle there were times when attacking was random and frustrating. Also, the motion controls are only cool with the sword fighting. Flapping it to fly the bird makes me feel like an idiot and directing bombs and the beatle would be way more fun with a stick and a button.
-Too much hand-holding. One of the coolest puzzles in the game was when you had to look through a grate in the ceiling of the sandship and shoot an arrow to hit the time crystal outside. It would have been so rewarding to figure that out....but the sword already had told you to do it. sigh. No thinking, just following instructions. And it wasn't until the later dungeons where you had to mix it up with different items to figure things out. That should start early on.
-It's not state-of-the-art. Nothing, other than the near 1-to-1 sword play, about Skyward Sword is cutting edge. It's standard def. The world zones are smallish. There is no voice acting. There is only one real town to visit. The theme song is good but it's the only real memorable one. The scale of the game is much smaller than other big adventures out there. None of the gameplay is very ground breaking. The orignial Zelda was mind-blowingly ahead of its time. ALttP was superbly polished. OoT was amazing in every aspect...story, soundtrack, graphics, gameplay...completely ground-breaking. Twilight Princess at least had cutting-edge visuals and introduced motion control for the first time. SS did none of this. And it's zones felt pretty bland. The most unique was the sand sea, but even that felt more like a sand lake than a sea. The sense of scale wasn't there.
-The title. Skyward Sword is pretty lame.

I have very high hopes that with a new system that is 20X as powerful as wii, with the requirement to center a game around motion controls no longer there, with their designers finally free to play in HD that ZeldaU will be everything that SS was not. I want a sweeping forest with trees rising to the sky, mist on the ground and sun trickling through the branches. Ancient ruins and snowy mountains. I want catchy melodies that make me think of forest elves a decade after I first hear it. I have no hate for Skyward Sword - I very much enjoyed it for a while - but I want and expect more of Zelda.

... Did people really hate the music in skyward sword? I was blown away by some parts...

Perfect.

As well as the soundtrack for Grooseland:

This thread kind of shows why I hate Zelda fans sometimes... Everyone wants change, but when it happens, people throw a !@#$fit. I personally loved how well done the dungeon areas were done but I still missed the openness of the world. But I like that Nintendo is trying different things and I hope that they continue to experiment with different things, so that Zelda never stagnates.

It was my favourite console zelda game since majora's mask.

@blackstarr. I didn't hate the music, but there wasn't much in the way of timeless melodies that we've seen in the past from Zelda. And I love change, I would love more change in Zelda. The problem (for me) with SS was the execution, not any changes in the formula. I would like more change, and more spectacular execution. Rock my world like O o T. Completely change things up and take the presentation to the next level.