Daily Debate: Was There Still Too Much Hand-Holding in Skyward Sword HD?

Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for Skyward Sword and Skyward Sword HD.

One of the most common criticisms aimed at Skyward Sword is that the game holds the player’s hand far too often. Released during a period of Nintendo’s history in which the company went out of its way to make sure the player was never lost, stuck, or frustrated, Skyward Sword features various methods by which to guide the player, such as the Dousing mechanic, Sheikah Stones, and — perhaps most infamously — the companion character Fi.

Individually, these features can be extremely helpful to Zelda newbies and more-or-less forgivable to veterans; guidance is to be expected by a game intended to be played by everyone, after all. But taken all together, Skyward Sword‘s many, many attempts to be helpful have been received poorly by some of the more hardcore minded of the Zelda fanbase. To such players, the game’s methods of guidance interrupt gameplay too frequently, eliminate the game’s stakes and sense of challenge during even the most mundane sequences, and, in the most severe cases, come off as patronizing and insulting when the solutions presented seem especially obvious.

The recently released Skyward Sword HD, thankfully, has aimed to address some of this criticism by introducing various “quality-of-life enhancements” and “refinements to player tutorials and general guidance.” The Sheikah Stones are now gone, most hints are now hidden away in a menu, and many of Fi’s interruptions have been made optional. These are all certainly welcome changes to the original experience…

But was enough done to eliminate unwanted hand-holding?

 

In my opinion, Skyward Sword HD still very much had an unbearable amount of hand-holding, more than I would ever personally want in a Zelda game. Beyond what I consider too many camera pans and map cutaways showing the player exactly where to go and what to do, my biggest gripes relate, unsurprisingly, with Fi.

For example, while many the sword spirit’s musings are technically optional, they are not completely ignorable. A chime sound effect will still play every time Fi has something she wants to say; and this sound cannot be turned off and will not stop until Fi’s cries for attention are entertained. So, if one is low on hearts or has a full wallet, they’d better get used to hearing that chime over and over again, lest they give in and listen to Fi’s “optional” advice.

Of course, this issue also does not account for the high frequency with which Fi still interrupts gameplay with mandatory dialogue. Yes, despite Skyward Sword HD reducing the total number Fi’s interruptions, there still exist many, many instances where the character pops out, without input from the player, to give direction in some way. During my own playthrough, Fi’s mandatory advice, on more than one occasion, spoiled any satisfaction I would have gained from solving a puzzle or finding the correct way to proceed.

 

Allow me to present one especially potent example: There is a puzzle found in Lanayru Desert in which the player must turn a large dial and lock its three arms into specific alignments. The solution to this puzzle is to orient the three arms so that they match up with locations on the region’s map itself, as the dial mirrors the dimensions of the map. Now, admittedly, I did not completely understand the puzzle when first examining the dial, so I backed out so that I could survey my surroundings more closely. I would have likely come to the solution as soon as I looked at my map. Unfortunately, before I was even given control of Link after pressing the back button, Fi appeared to tell me exactly what to do. She spoiled the solution of a puzzle for me, before I even had the chance to try to solve it.

As far as I’m concerned, Skyward Sword HD‘s excessive hand-holding robbed me of a crucial a-ha moment and of the satisfaction of overcoming a challenge on my own. That’s, quite frankly, not what I play video games for.

But those are of course just a few of my own experiences. What were thoughts on Skyward Sword HD? Did you think the game still had too much hand-holding? Were you not bothered at all by Fi and the game’s other guidance systems? Did you feel that the remaster made enough improvements to the original? Share all your thoughts in the comments below!

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