I've had a lot of games land on my desk...

[Gwen]

For some reason I don't have a problem with that, as that's realism in play..

[Tellis]

The use of your shield is stupid, because it now breaks.

what the fuck

God damn it, Nintendo.

Oh well, I wasn't prepared for something to usurp Wind Waker from it's spot as my favorite Zelda game yet, anyway.

aaaaa game companies, please get it through your heads that degrading equipment ALWAYS SUCKS.

edit:

How far are you into the game? This sounds like an excuse for them to give you a more legitimate shield that won't break halfway into the game.

Yeah, I'd like to know this too, I mean, wooden shields caught on fire in OoT, and until you got the Mirror Shield you still had to worry about it being eaten by Like-Likes. But ugh, breaking from normal use is just dumb. How fast does it break?

[Rosencrantz]

For some reason I don't have a problem with that, as that's realism in play..

I mean, yeah, it's good for the realism bit, but I just don't find it fun when games do that to you. I want things I can rely on, and this is something that killed Oblivion and Fallout 3 for me.

Not to mention I rely heavily on shieldplay whenever I play the 3D Zeldas so I have a double problem with this :c

[Garamonde]

I rarely use the shield in WW myself...

[Gwen]

For some reason I don't have a problem with that, as that's realism in play..

I mean, yeah, it's good for the realism bit, but I just don't find it fun when games do that to you. I want things I can rely on, and this is something that killed Oblivion and Fallout 3 for me.

Not to mention I rely heavily on shieldplay whenever I play the 3D Zeldas so I have a double problem with this :c

I love those games :C
I use my shield sparingly and rely on acrobatics and offensive maneuvers to save my ass, so a shield being the piece of wood it is is okay with me.
It's not really fair to call it a "fuck you" from nintendo since all it adds is realism to the game.

[Tellis]

I rarely use the shield in WW myself...

Yeah, but that's Wind Waker. The combat's pretty simple and straightforward, not much use for a shield, 'cept for the few enemies with weapons, and they drop their weapons super easily anyway. Skyward Sword's combat is, from what we've seen, a lot more intensive, so a reliable shield would be really handy because you're going to be using the shield a lot to block attacks and then counter, or whatever. Having it break from non-extraordinary circumstances just seems like kind of a deal-breaker to me. And of course, we're going off of one person recounting their playing experience, so maybe this is all foolishness, I'd have to play it to know for sure if it's annoying.

And realism can just go suck it. I've never played a game for realism. But that's just me.

edit: Man, I feel like making a thread about where realism does and doesn't work in video games but I don't have any time to give it a proper write-up today...

[Alpha Six]

Hey guys, I know the shield having durability is ~such a painful blow to your enjoyment of the game~ but I hope you realize there are more defensive options than just "hold shield up, sit on pole, wait".


It's a different game. Play it differently.

---

In fact, the fact that the shield is breakable should kind of be a hint to you guys right there to use the sword more defensively.

---

PS if you're letting something like a different equipment system turn you off from a game you haven't even played yet, you are doing video games wrong.

[Woppet*]

I think it's a good thing. Gives me something to spend my rupees on for once. And it's cool you can upgrade stuff.
If there's anything the Zelda series needs its more rupee sinks.

I'm also exited it's going to be different, After TP I welcome any kind of change to the series. I don't want to play Ocarina of Time 5.0

[Jalopes]

yeah i mean, i hope nobody was expecting to try playing skyward sword like a regular 3d zelda game (put up shield, wait to attack, never lose health)

i'm pretty sure the whole point was to make combat less obvious and simple, which is a good thing imo - i mean the combat in the other 3d zelda games doesn't bother me, but you have to admit it isn't very challenging. skyward sword seems like it's trying to get the player thinking more, and even if the game isn't particularly hard at least its making you more actively involved. it's actually a good thing that the shield breaks, now you can only use it intelligently instead of literally all the time

tbh what skyward sword looks to be doing is just adding a bit more for the player to think about, but not so much that it's too much to handle (though i wouldn't be surprised if a lot of zelda fans have trouble initially since every 3d zelda game up to this point gives you almost nothing to think about in combat situations)


but of course i won't know until i play it, we'll see

[TomGuycott]

Legend of Zelda meets Dark Souls.

Man, that'd be so cool. Impossible Zelda game.

[Tellis]

Wow, okay, jeez, like I said, maybe this is all foolishness, I'd need to play it to decide for myself. I've just never liked degrading stuff in games, so when I hear about it in anything I tend to turn my nose up at it, just a knee-jerk reaction. Certainly not going to change my decision to actually buy the game. It'll just be kind of nuisance if it actually breaks super easily like Dazz seems to be saying, it won't ruin my playing experience or anything. So yeah, no biggie, I see your guy's points, I'm just thinking worst-case scenario, I guess.

I mean, I can totally see the shield just being used as extra protection just fine, like something that's not necessary, it's just a thing to make the going a bit easier. Just so long as it isn't being used in puzzles and stuff too, having necessary stuff break is kinda lame, but I'll bet Nintendo thought this through (I hope). I mean, I'm sure it won't be a boss battle tool, at least until there's a permanent one (if there even is). Heck, now that I think about it, I didn't even have a shield fighting Ghirahim in the demo I played at PAX (and that's a damn fun battle), so I can say the combat works without it.

... So what the hell am I worrying about? haha

[Dazz]

The shield breaks after 2 hits from normal enemies.

[Garamonde]

Well, you don't need the shield all of the time anyway, I think they are trying to get players to be more active and not just sit there half the time like Jalo said. In Zelda games in general though I've really not used my shield a lot as far as I can remember... I didn't see a whole lot of point. Then again my battle technique preference is quick & dodgy rather than defensive so of course it won't be the same for those who actually do use it.

I have also always despised having a full wallet of Rupees and nothing to spend them on... then finding treasure chests with Rupees that go to waste.

[Dazz]

I think that the more annoying part of the upgrade system is the need for random shit that you find. There is a lot of random shit, like, a LOT.
And every time you talk to somebody, the age-old classic Zelda fashion of saying the same shit again and again about what they do is really not fun when you can't skip the text.

[Kriven]

I'm more worried about this whole "Stamina Bar" to be honest. I'm usually extremely loathe to play games with such things. They just aren't fun for me.

It's not really fair to call it a "fuck you" from nintendo since all it adds is realism to the game.

Not that I really mind the breaking shield and all, but it is a big "fuck you" to add realism to an unrealistic, almost escapist, franchise. It kind of rots the intent of the series. Realism in itself isn't inherently bad, but when you take a franchise that was built out of whimsy and add realism in really noticeable, style-breaking ways, it is a "fuck you."

"I don't mind that Mario can't leap large chasms anymore, because small hops adds more realism to the game."