Topic: Am I the only one who's really missin' 1:1 swordplay in Breath of the Wild?

@Octane

Oh, and what game in particular comes to mind when you read "1:1"?

@Turbo857 Battle Quest from Nintendo Land. A bunch of VR games that track your hands.

@Octane

Not bad examples but.... Skyward Sword does feature 1:1 sword tracking so.... I think it qualifies. Besides, Battle Quest sword strikes are activated using the same exact input motions as Skyward Sword. Battle Quest just does it faster.

So Skyward Sword isn't 1:1 in that case. The Wii Remote may track your motions 1:1, but they don't translate to a 1:1 movement of the sword.

@Octane

SS's tracking of sword movement: Yes

SS's sword attacks: Since there is a slight minimal lag, technically no

Conclusion: Who cares? It's the first of its kind for home consoles and it's certainly 1:1 enough in my book.

I would not mind another motion controlled swordplay Zelda, but I do feel they would have to expand quite a bit on Skyward Sword. Skyward Sword was a verrrrrry long game and felt like it did all it could do with Wiimote Plus, and then some. And because the whole game was about it, they would have to make a lot of changes in order to avoid making a samey game.

@kkslider5552000

I hear ya. The game design of SS was fairly linear by Zelda standards. I don't believe that was due to the designers' focus on prioritizing utilization of the Wii motion plus, but rather to avoid making a clone of Twilight Princess.

I'd imagine that if Ninty builds upon everything they learned from Botw and implemented SS's 1:1 sword controls (with a right analog stick sword swiping alternative for those turned off by motion controls), you wouldn't simply have another SS. We also have to consider the yet to be revealed surprises that can only be possible with the so far underutilized function that is HD rumble.

If used correctly, this could be the recipe for another unique, high-quality Zelda.

Sorry for bumping an old post. New guy who is enjoying browsing all these posts.

Anyways, OP reminded me of a Skyward Sword moment. Mind you, I'm a grown man with kids, standing 6'3" and 235lbs. I'm playing SS in mancave and from door way you can't see TV. I'm in a boss battle, 3rd or 4th attepmpt, and my attacks are getting blocked and I'm dieing, so I figured out if I "really do it", I can spin around (literally) and hit from opposing side. Anyways, so I'm standing, spinning, fighting, and down right sweating. Wife walks in, sees me doing all this without seeing TV, and turns around and just walks out and says "I don't want to know." lol, good times.

OK, carry on. I thought SS gameplay was fun. Can't compare to BOTW because I haven't played it yet (arrives today).

@Old_Goat_Ninja

Lmao! Sorry for the late reply but that story is hilarious! Currently playing the Master Trials dlc for botw but I'm gonna have to bust out SS soon!

@Turbo857 While I haven't played SS, I do think BotW has the best combat by far of the Zelda games I've played (Ocarina, Majora, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, and Phantom Hourglass). There are so many options in terms of weapons, different combat techniques to master (such as dodging, parrying, and stealth attacks), and more. In contrast, in previous Zelda games you just had a sword, and it got pretty boring after a while.

@shadow-wolf

Yeah, Breath of the Wild's combat is solid. And the new features you mentioned like stealth attacks, slow motion effect from perfect dodging, descending with bow and arrows) and even the use of spears and two handed axes and great swords are indeed welcome additions. But previously in Zelda games, I never controlled Link thinking it'd be awesome if I got to use more than a sword.

However, I woefully miss the Shield Bash, Helm Splitter, Back Slice, and Ending Blow. Most would say that parrying is the same as the Shield Bash but unlike Link's parry in botw, the Shield Bash could be also used as an offensive attack to stun certain enemies without necessarily waiting for the enemy to attack (making it more useful).

Regardless of the additional options offered in botw, the sword/shield combo is still my (and I assume most people's) go-to, preferred option simply because it provides the most defense. And since it provides the most defensive, it also makes these offensive omissions all the more puzzling imo.

@Turbo857 That is true, it'd be nice if they included previous techniques in future games.

@MegaTen

I don't think I follow. I've beaten Skyward Sword several times and my approach was never wait then attack. Yeah, I've observed enemies postures as I approach them but I don't really wait before attacking usually. Combat never felt turn based to me since I was able to execute attacks at any given time.

Sure, you can play a defensive wait and strike tactic. But you can just as easily use an aggressively offensive approach, putting enemies on the defense and create your own openings. Skyward Sword's enemies still gave a sense of pressure so I'm not getting how botw necessarily improved in that category. Unless maybe it's the number of enemies in select locations.

Hmm, yes.

Very few games made motion controls enjoyable for me. If I remember correctly:

Wii Sports
Wii Sports Resort
******Zack & Wiki (you guys should really play this underappreciated gem!!)******
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles / The Darkside Chronicles / 4 (except the motion quick events)

No you're not the only one OP. In fact I just bought the game console and game today thinking this would be like the previous title. When I found out to my disappointment that it was not available, that I could not hold my controller like it was a sword and fight enemies, I took the junk back for a refund. Didn't even play it 1 hour. Sorry kids, if you are so lazy that swinging a weightless remote is too much exercise you shouldn't be playing video games at all, you should not even have any, you should go outside and get in shape. Nintendo should have at least made it optional. Removing the function completely for the game lost them my business.

Skyward Sword didn't have 1:1 swordplay, so there is nothing to miss.

I think I hear an echo!

I miss Link's move set. Back slice, helm splitter, mortal draw, etc.

While the game feel and control of Breath of the Wild is superb, they have failed to recognize a lot about sword fighting in video games. The best example of sword fighting done right is in my opinion the Devil May Cry series. That series evolved the z-targeting of Ocarina of Time and perfected it.

First they realized that having a shield slows down the game. If you have a shield the game becomes about waiting to get hit, then counter attack. Secondly, they realized the importance of everything happening in real time within the constraints of the game, so they just gave the character a set of moves that could be used however the player wants. It's satisfying to hit an enemy with a stinger since it's not a predetermined quick time event, or a "code" you press while near an enemy. You can do stingers all day and they're so easy you'll never fail, so the trick becomes to hit the enemy in an ideal fashion, hell you can even hit two or three enemies. You can never hit two enemies with a flurry rush in botw.

Finally, they realized the character had to be semi-super human. If the character moves like a real life human, then every move would be so small it would be hard to see. If they are super heroes, then the game would be boring because you wouldn't be in danger. With Dantes (the character in DMC) moves, you can jump far enough to easily and clearly do an evasion, but not so far that you won't be worried about being hit.

I miss it yes. And motion controls done right generally - pointer controls of Metroid Prime 3 as an example.