Howdy, folks. Welcome to the Kotaku Game Club's first discussion of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward SwordWe're going to talk about the start of the game through the Earth Shrine (the volcano dungeon).
I imagine that most of you who've gotten that far have been playing the game for awhile now: Please keep in mind that some of us have only played up to that point, so please try not to discuss anything that happens later in the game. If you've been looking forward to playing Skyward Sword, but haven't picked it up yet, keep in mind that this discussion will be full of spoilers for the first eight hours of the game.
For all you newbies, The Kotaku Game Club meets each month to tackle the issues of a given video game as a group, discussing it piece by piece as we play.
Here is this week's jump-off question: Do you feel that Skyward Sword's fairy-tale narrative makes the game feel timeless, or emphasizes how similar all Zelda games are?
Skyward Sword may be the most narrative-driven Zelda game to date: The connection between Link and Zelda has felt been more intimate, and their connection definitely gives Link (and the player) a real motivation to go on the quest. On the other hand, the game constantly refers to the fact that this story is one that's been re-told over and over. A line of dialogue at the beginning goes so far as to reference the series' 25th birthday. While a deeper narrative might be exactly what the series needs to evolve, emphasizing it's history and, to be blunt, lack of flavor, seems to run counter to what a story should provide: A novel, if not unique, experience.
At next week's meeting of the Kotaku Game Club we'll be discussing the next eight or so hours ofThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword—up through the water dungeon. If you're keeping pace with us, please try to play through the water dungeon by our next meeting. Make sure to come back to Kotaku next Thursday, December 15th, at 4pm Eastern.