@bonesy91: No, it's not just those retro systems. Even last-generation Nintendo games have that kind of massive replay value and keep getting better the more you play them. I've realized that almost all the Wii games in my collection stopped being fun after the first or second playthrough.

I wish they would just go back to making games that continue to be fun no matter how many times I play them.

"Zelda games have been developed with the top priority of focusing on the game mechanics"

This kind of thinking is a plague on the series.

Only one of the categories has a game that I actually want to vote for. Well, technically two, but the second is Xenoblade.

@123: That makes a lot more sense then this "Link dies" nonsense. I still don't understand why it splits, but I get how it fits together. I'm going to stop thinking about this now.

@TBD: I meant comment #98. The "Link fails to appear" thing.

@theblackdragon: That makes a little more sense, but wouldn't it just be the adult timeline then? He pulls out the sword and seven years later he defeats Ganon. I mean, the characters even remember who he is after all that time.

@KaiserGX: No matter how he fails, it wouldn't split the timeline. It would just lead into the third branch, and the other two wouldn't happen. The split wouldn't occur until after he defeated Ganon, in which case the third branch wouldn't happen at all since he obviously didn't fail.

BTW, there's nothing confusing about the Metroid timeline, and Ridley's various incarnations are almost always explained.

The "Link fails" branch isn't a split in the timeline, it's a what-if scenario. The other two branches are actual realities that split because they couldn't coexist.

If Link fails, then the other branches don't happen. They don't split the timeline, and they don't happen at all in any reality, because Link didn't defeat Ganondorf. If Link succeeds, the timeline splits into the child and adult branches, and branch 3 doesn't happen in any alternate timeline because Link didn't fail.

@childofacid: That's not a split timeline. The ending in the past makes the ending in the future impossible, so there has to be a different outcome for both realities.

If Link dies, he dies. If he fails in Ocarina of Time, then split 1 and 2 won't happen. If he succeeds, split 3 won't happen. Either way, split 3 isn't a split.

"Split 3: Link fails in Ocarina Of Time"

Seriously? I don't believe this for a second. If Link fails, he fails. No time travel, no time paradox, no split.

@21: What are you talking about? This game's cutscenes are great. Other M's story is basically the same as Fusion's, but poorly thought out and executed.

I would give it an 8.

A Link to the Past + Link's Awakening = Minish Cap

I agree with this review, except for the part about the plot. Zelda games generally have stories that are good, but not great. Minish Cap is no exception.

Zelda is good, Zelda by Retro Studios is better. Then again, I'd say that about most Nintendo franchises.

@zionich: Yes, I like that the enemies aren't as stupidly incompetent in combat for once.

Assuming Nintendo doesn't come up with a better way to do the swordplay with a normal controller, they could easily work something out with the second analog stick. It might seem awkward at first, but it would at least have the precision and responsiveness that the motion controls don't.

@zionich: How could it possibly be harder? The whole reason I want to use a normal controller is because the Skyward Sword's motion controls aren't responsive or accurate enough for the game's combat.

Ever since the Wii came out, I've preferred the remote setup for most types of games, and I had no problems with Twilight Princess' Wii controls. Ironically, Skyward Sword is one of the few games that I would have liked better with a classic controller.

@23: "I think its a fact that it has been selling like crazy, so its easier to assume that people at least enjoy it alot."

So? I enjoy the game and think the controls are bad. The two aren't directly correlated.

Buttons: I press B, Link slashes.

Twilight Princess on Wii: I shake the remote, Link slashes.

Skyward Sword: I swing the remote, either (1) Link slashes, (2) Link slashes in the wrong direction, (3) Link slashes after a moment's delay, or (4) Link doesn't slash.

@3: On the other hand, Xenoblade could never have worked without a 2nd stick + the dpad, so maybe it'll be helpfulf or other genres too

Yeah, I think most genres could somehow be improved with this. I hope there are games that use it for something other than aiming a first-person view.

@4: Nope, they're adventure games.

@BenAV: Just to clear something up, I'm not complaining about Skyward Sword's controls. I really don't care, I would play the game either way. What annoys me is people acting like MotionPlus is going to make it a great game. I have no doubt that the controls will work great, but the game will be great because of the game, not the controls.

If Nintendo had somehow decided to make Skyward Sword into a linear, repetitive hack & slash with the exact same MotionPlus gameplay it has now, would the game still be great because of the motion control?

If Miyamoto wants realistic sword controls, awesome. Sounds great. There are still lots of more important things I expect from a Zelda game, and the are still more important things the series needs to work on.

@TheSolarKnight: Metroid Prime Trilogy's motion control is a nice addition, but I'd still give the original 10/10, and it's definitely a lot better than Prime 3.

@warioswoods: I agree on the point that there are two types of immersion, but I think that the unity you described between the player and the game also exists in mental immersion.

This "immersion" argument is ridiculous. It doesn't matter whether you use buttons or motion controls, as long as you don't need to focus on what your doing outside of the game (and it can go both ways for either control method).

@27:

"As far as the game being better or worse due to the control method. Of COURSE it has an effect. I suspect that very few gamers would neglect controls from their criteria for judging a game."

"It's like saying that the way mario controls in super mario bros. had no bearing on whether it was a good game or not. Imagine if there were 5 or 6 different jump buttons to decide how high and fast to jump rather than a combination of a sprint button and holding the jump button down for a variable amount of time. Does anyone think it would be the same well-loved game, or think that it wouldn't make it worse?"

I'm talking about buttons vs motion for a modern Zelda game. If you insist on dragging a 25-year-old 8 bit platformer into the argument, consider this:

Metroid Prime 3's motion control makes its GameCube predecessors' stationary analog aiming seem awful in comparison. Metroid Prime still blows Prime 3 out of the water, even with its vastly inferior controls.

@LegendofPasta99:

"Based on the footage we've seen already, I fail to see how button controls would make the swordplay work the way it appears to. Moving the sword to a specific position and then swinging it in a certain direction are aspects that were not entirely addressed in past Zelda games."

Link has been able to slash in different directions for a long time now. Skyward Sword is just the first game where it matters.

@shingi_70: It's really not that different from the combat in OoT/MM/WW/TP. I'm kind of surprised that there was never an emphasis on swordplay before Skyward Sword.

@jkshaz: I don't think he meant controls can't be involved in immersion, just that immersion doesn't come from them. The less you think about controls, the more attention is on the game (i.e. more immersive).

@vonseux: I'm sure the motion controls will be great, but they won't have any effect on how good or bad the game is. Reviewers that like or dislike motion controls will probably rate it higher or lower because of them, sure. Everything I've seen in trailers could have somehow been done with buttons, and most of it has been done in past Zelda games.

Basically, Skyward Sword looks like it will be great. It wouldn't be any more or less great if Nintendo had gone with a normal controller. Good gameplay doesn't make a bad Zelda game good, or vice versa.

It's not like Skyward Sword is going to be any better or worse because of motion controls.

The screenshots on the Heroes of Ruin website are showing up as normal 2D images. The one here works in 3D, though. Weird.

@shingi_70: I don't think that's the reason. No one seemed to care when OoT was the second game to do that. Somehow, people got the idea that Twilight Princess was going to be a revolutionary game that would change the series forever. That's not a very reasonable expectation. Twilight Princess isn't the best Zelda game, it's the game that Ocarina of Time should have been.

Wind Waker and Twilight Princess are like two sides of the same coin, and Skyward Sword looks like it's going to combine the best traits of both games. It might even be better than the 2D games.

A lot of people don't like dual analog for aiming (myself included), but there are just as many people who have a hard time switching away from what they've always used. I know what that's like. If the Wii didn't have GameCube ports, I would suck at Brawl.

The Wii U controller has dual analog and motion control. Problem solved.

A 2D Mario game in 3D. It's about time, Nintendo.

All of those sword moves can be done easily in other games without motion controls. >:[

@11: That one is only for Europe. I wasn't specifically talking about the Link figurine, just stuff like figurines in general.

I wish there was stuff like this on Club Nintendo.

I think the first one has the best difficulty curve. The 3D games are all cakewalks. (Except Majora's Mask, of course.)

@BluTyGer: I thought he kept his items in his hat.

I just noticed that one shot shows four people playing as Kirby. I thought it was supposed to be like NSMBW where player one is Kirby, and everyone else chooses one of the minor minor characters.

@accc: The PC version isn't tilt-controlled, and I'll be extremely disappointed if this doesn't use 3D.

@110: "The iPad is just a giant-sized iPod Touch."

And a swimming pool is just a giant-sized bathtub.

@YelloWishua: What's your point? It's a rumor. It might be true, and it might not. This rumor doesn't sound very far-fetched, either. Nintendo has made big announcements in the past, you know.

$80 price cut + Mario at the holidays = user base explosion.

How does it detect the point of interest? Can it only sense Wii remotes?

@SuperOtaku: Because there's no release date yet, and it might not get here until early 2012.

BIT.TRIP SAGA - No.
Cave Story 3D - Maybe eventually.
Star Fox 64 3D - No.
Pokemon Rumble Blast - Yes, but only after generation six disappoints me.
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Survivor Overclocked - Not now.

Nintendo can take their time with Mario, because I won't need a second 3DS game any time soon.

@lz: If they release it, the people who wanted it most will have imported it already, and NOA will make even less money from it.

What I think is great about Samus is that her personality shows you don't need to be melodramatic to have a soul. Her rebellious attitude and don't-look-back mentality are what make her human, and just because she's not emotional doesn't mean she's a heartless killer.

@Gamesake: Lara Croft was fifteen years late. Gaming's leading lady is Ms. Pac-Man.

@Link79: You're talking about a game where an Italian plumber uses mushrooms and flowers to battle an army of evil turtles and save a fairy tale kingdom inhabited by cute little fungus people. And then Metroid was one of the first games where a woman saved the day.