I'd be lying if I said I didn't love this game. Everything about this game is done incredibly: the story, the music, the fourth wall breaks (if you don't know what I'm talking about, play the game, you'll be in for a treat), and especially, the overall presentation, which was especially amazing to me. The only reasons I'm holding off from rating this a 5/5 is because of the gameplay (I personally didn't find it that bad, once you get used to it, and the bosses used it in such creative ways anyway) and the fact that apparently 2 and 3 are BETTER. THEY'RE BETTER? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE BETTER

(This is a rating simply for the story. I beat the game once when I was younger but had to drop it during this last replay attempt due to reasons I will go over in my review)

Fujibayashi , Fujibayashi , Fujibayashi. While not his first game that he wrote for Zelda, this is his first console Zelda that he took the helm of and his most important work up to that point. He would go on to write BotW and Tears which I'm not a fan of. I'm unfortunately not a fan of this game either.

So why the dislike for this game? The main problem is, the story is so spread out that it boggles the mind how this is even the same series as the last 4 masterful 3D entries. The earlier entries were gameplay focused but filled the world with loads visual storytelling, cohesive setting-theme integrative locations and lore that make the whole package on the whole a lot more substantial. This game, you can unironically skip to the cutscenes and almost nothing is lost.

From a thematic stand point I'm disappointed aside from one particular element. What this game adds to the cosmology of Hyrule is brilliant. A thick additional layer of tragedy is added with the knowledge that Hyrule is literally cursed to always be in conflict with light and dark. No matter the era or set of our 3 central characters.

However, I think this game aside from that is not only a bit simplistic (fatalism and our relationship with our agency vs our given roles is not that layered at all in this game, especially considering how common this idea is in fiction) but also misses the point of the role of subtext in Zelda. Hyrule as a setting is forever cursed to be in constant conflict, in a constant state of shifting between peace and tragedy. Due to this, cycles of civilization are constantly being shifted forward, with the past lost to time. Texts are lost, history is lost, culture is lost. Only pieces of what was before remain, left for us to bask in their spiritual significance. In addition with this theme-setting integrative shell is the role of subtext. The meat of the story lies in the subtext because just as with the world, we have to dig into texts, piece together clues, symbols, details in order to arrive to concrete readings.

Skyward Sword (this applies to BotW and Tears) have abysmal dialogue. So blunt it hits you on the forehead harder than Mario jumping on a goomba. Giving this game an empty essence that when combined with the simplistic theming and sparse story, equals a direction I wish Zelda never went off to. But alas, BotW continues a lot of these patterns.

I dearly wish a return to the HoT saga storytelling one day. Because just like Ganondorf with Hyrule, I long for it.

Right off the bat, I adore this game and it is one of my favorite stories ever. I do admit though, it has more issues than some of my other favorites just due to how old it is. It is one of the first games to try to have as in-depth a narrative as it did and it shows in areas. Still, that doesn't hold the story back enough for me to not feel so many emotions while playing it. A story full of amazing characters that is thematically focused on the importance of connection and persevering through the most extremes forms of darkness together. So many moments that swell me up and boasts quite possibly Uematsu's masterwork. Oh and also has the character that my name comes from :)

This game is incredible. This game is art. It is literally peak. Characters? Superbly-written. Sprite art? Beautiful for an SNES game, ignoring the goofy portraits. Music? Don't even get me STARTED. Gameplay? Ehhhh. Espers are cool, and it has the traditional feel of a Final Fantasy game, at least compared to the ones I've played, but it doesn't add that much to the experience. The gameplay is enough to warrant a loss of 1 star...But luckily, this game is a 7/5, so it doesn't take that hard of a hit.

also, thanks to HeroOfTim for recommending this you actual legend