Just finished this entry in the Zelda series on the Wii for the very first time, and loved it. In the end, I'd probably put it as my third favourite entry in the series, just behind MM and ALBTW, and narrowly beating out TP.

This was despite hearing for years that this was a low point in the series--a heavily flawed game with plenty of QoL issues, reused content, and janky motion controls dragging it down. I found it to be quite the opposite, and would like to give my two cents on the most common complaints.

In regards to the overworld being redesigned to act more like a dungeon--this was a great change. In previous entries in the series, Hyrule Field and its variants were empty, barren, and wasted space that Link had to traverse between dungeons. In SS, the regions of the surface take on a more metroidvania-esque design, with levels looping back on themselves and Link being able to access new parts upon getting items and upgrades. They became much more interesting this way, in a way that reminded me of the intricately designed areas in the Souls series.

Same with the sky. Common complaints include that its empty and lacks much to do--which is true. Because of this though, it avoids the issue that games like Wind Waker run into with having plenty of spots to explore, but little that one can do until they have all of Links items. Instead, SS is more linear--to its benefit, funnelling the player towards surface exploration rather than wasting their time with meaningless filler content.

Skyloft itself was a joy to explore. The characters were super lovable, and side quests like giving the ghost hand a love letter to tracking down a monster hiding beneath the graveyard was super charming and entertaining. Its not as in depth as Clock Town from MM, but SS has a much larger main questline than MM does instead.

A lot has been said about the reuse of areas. But aside from specific moments (having to return to Skyview Temple for the water, or guiding the robot towards the top of the mountain), SS heavily remixed and provided new experiences within the old areas. Every visit to Lanaryu was within a completely separate region, from the sand sea to the gorge. Faron Woods expanded into the lake and the water dragons lair, and later flooded to become similar to Zora's Domain. And in Eldin, new areas opened up after acquiring the earrings and the third visit turned into a super fun prison escape sequence. And personally, the Silent Realms were a super fun (and horrifying) challenge with the pressure from the guardians making it way more enjoyable than collecting tears in TP.

The motion controls were largely fun in combat, and added incredibly to the experience. Its a shame that backlash to motion in general means we'll likely never see combat this involved in a Zelda game ever again. Having to aim sword strikes against bosses like Ghirahim and Demise made Zelda combat much more interesting than the usual button mashing, and swinging the Wii Remote to rip off Koloktos' arms with the whip felt super visceral. It allowed the combat to become a focus for once in a Zelda game, and bosses that had more involved phases than the usual "hit the weakpoint three times" style. Though I will admit that some uses were occasionally annoying, like the flight controls or using the lyre, but overall they didn't detract too much from the experience.

Some complaints are definitely valid. The text scroll speed is incredibly slow at times. Fi can be annoying, though the complaints about her are definitely overblown. Having to see the "new item" animation everytime the game was reset was also quite annoying. From what I've heard though, these issues were all addressed in the HD re-release on the Switch, which is the version I'd recommend to any new players.

What's left here is an incredible entry in the Zelda series. Its collection of dungeons is a contender for the strongest in the series, with great entries like the Ancient Cistern and (my favourite) the Sandship. A beautiful story with an incredible orchestrated soundtrack. An incredible artstyle which finds a great line between the idealistic cartoon world of WW and the gritty pseudo-realism of TP. And to top it all off, an incredible combat system with some of the best fights in the Zelda series.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is an 8/10. Amazing.