Right now the internet hates Skyward Sword... like they hated Twilight Princess... and they hated Wind Waker... and they hated Majora's Mask. When Zelda U comes out we'll hate that and love Skyward Sword.

Skyward Sword is awesome. The art style is lovely, although the impressionist style didn't always mesh well with HD TVs. The controls were as good as the player was, and I wouldn't call them better, but they made for a unique game. The story was easily the best in a Zelda game. It was simple but sweet, and it gave you a reason to legitimately care about Zelda. Boss fights are the best in the series. Music was incredible. The Ancient Cistern, Pirate Ship, and Fire Temple were among the best dungeons in the series.

Of course, this is the internet, so we have to magnify any flaw to a ridiculous degree. We don't have day and night cycles... which really add nothing to the experience, but they're SUPPOSED to be in a Zelda game, and I hate change. You have to collect tadtones! Which takes up like 45 minutes (if you're slow) out of a 40ish hour game. The controls didn't work that one time and it couldn't have possible been my fault! The overworld is not connected. How can I enjoy this game without going through vast amounts of mostly empty space!

But hey, it's cool. Haters came in wanted to find something to hate, and in doing so, they deprived themselves of an excellent game.

As for me, I've only played the 3D Zeldas. I think SS may be my favorite. I like Wind Waker alot but the pacing is a bit off, even with the Wii U changes. Needs more dungeons too. Twilight Princess was excellent but... something felt missing when I was replaying it. The beginning is also pretty dull (yes worse than SS). I didn't like Majora's Mask. OOT and SS are in competition. I like OOT better but I can't decide if that's because it's a better game or because of nostalgia.

There does seem to be a lot of people making mountains out of molehills when criticizing the game.

That said, there are other reasons to "hate" Skyward Sword, apart from the trivial design choices and overblown motion-control horror stories.

We're still in the part when it's cool to hate on Skyward Sword, though. We need to wait about 6 months to a year after Wii U Zelda (though you think it won't come, so 6 months to a year after Wii U/successor simul-launch Zelda?) When people will start griping about x, y, and z that Zelda U did and how Skyward Sword didn't have any of that shit.

If SS is the best Zelda since OoT, hm... perhaps I would say. Better than TP in my opinion but I liked both Minish Cap and Wind Waker more, especially WW HD. So one of the best since OoT absolutely, but not the best.

Also I agree that with a "normal" controller instead of the Wii-mote I would have enjoyed this game a whole lot more. Same goes with TP, but since I played the GC-version it didn't bother me.

To all the users saying that people are just doing the normal zelda cycle hating I think you are not being real about the situation. There is a very good reason why all the 3d zelda after Oot people complain about them and they are perfectly legitimate reasons.

The padded, collect these random types of items, gameplay that SS suffered from is an absolutely good reason to criticize the game. That is very poor unimaginative game design staring you right in the face and should not be tolerated or just looked over. If any other game dares to have such poor game design most people will stop playing that game right then and there but because it is zelda we accept that uninspiring piece of game design in the hope that if we complete the task the game will get better.

TP also suffered from these collection exercises and it slowed down the pace of the game immensely, and if you don't know why people hated on wind waker well I just don't know what to say.

Oot of time suffered from none of these things, and if there was a checklist for good game design Oot beats most other 3d zelda in that regard making it the best by default.

I loved Skyward Sword...was exactly what I always imagined/wanted from a "Wii" Zelda. That being said, Ocarina is still my favorite and Twilight Princess is probably second. Skyward Sword is definitely a solid 3rd in my top 3 though...it's just the repeated (and timed) Imprisoned encounters and the "stress" of the Silent Realm that keep it from being perfect in my eyes and keep me from replaying it endlessly. OoT and TP are both "pure" games to me that don't have any parts that I "dread" getting to...so I can replay either of them over and over. Skyward Sword is flawless through the first 3 dungeons...and I actually LOVE all 7 dungeons...just some of the filler in-between that turns me off. Actually, ALBW is a "pure" game for me too...nothing that I dread, just like OoT and TP, but it's top-down so that keeps it #4 on my list. OoT was my first Zelda so 3D Zelda will always be my preference. Can't WAIT for the Wii U Zelda reveal at E3! Less than 3 months!

I didn't mind the silent realms; the repeated Imprisoned fights were the game's only major downside in my book. Sure, it had other minor blemishes, like having to re-calibrate and underwhelming visuals even for Wii, but all that faded in the face of its overall greatness in my view.

lol @ the poll options.

I respect your opinion OP, and I did get enjoyment out of playing SS, but the over-use of unnecessary (and often clumsy/broken) motion controls almost ruined the experience. I still got through it and beat the game, but I'm not sure I'd go through it again anytime within the next several years. I still think Twilight Princess is the best 3D Zelda yet made, personally. Yes, even better than OoT.

At least that's my opinion.

Skyward Sword was hyped to no end. It failed to meet that hype. It was meant to be better than OoT (straight from the developer). It had a beautiful art design, I'll give it that. But it didn't have much else going for it.

Fi held your hand for most of the game. I swear, I cringed every time she said my battery was low. Major downgrade from Midna, who was useful throughout the game and wasn't an annoyance.

The fetch quests. It's something I expect from cheap mobile RPGs or low-budget games, but NOT something I ever expected from Zelda. Mindless and boring.

Backtracking. Revisiting areas got old fast. In past Zelda games there were a multitude of different areas to visit and explore in the overworld, with minimal backtracking. Not the case here.

The overworld, or in this case, the lack of overworld. A few islands in the sky does not constitute an overworld. Seriously, one of the most immersive things in the older games was a dynamic overworld with a day/night cycle. In SS, you can't even leave the sky at night, so you can't explore the so called "overworld" at night. There is no dawn or dusk. No special soundtracks for night themes at each individual locations on the land. Nothing. Laziness or funding, I don't know what it was, but not including it really hurt the game.

The controls. I didn't mind motion that much, but it started to get a little old swinging your hand around for moves, especially when you are in a fight and the controller sees a stab as a slash. Frustrating. And not being able to slash while moving? Instant disappointment.

Soundtrack was pretty good, better than OoT and (maybe) Wind Waker but no where near Twilight Princess.

Overall, it was a good game, like any Zelda game, but in comparison to the older games it lacked immersion and ambition.

NES Zelda 1 is the best imho.