Harp-Worst Instrument Ever?

[THEM]

Like most of you, I was looking forward to the new Instrument featured in Skyward Sword-the Harp. As it turns out, the harp is barely ever used. You use it for the main quest a few times but you never actually play it, just strum back and forth to a rythym. Boring but simple, and yet half of the time it doesn't even work!! I've been playing through the Lumpy Pumpkin sidequest and just got to the final part where you have to play the Harp with Kina in a duet. All you have to do is keep a rythym, and yet I can barely manage it for a few seconds because it starts spazzing out and playing too slow or too fast!! You would think it would be a simple thing for Nintendo to make it work, but it completely sucks!! Personally I'm glad the harp is under used-it doesn't work!!! Seriously I enjoyed howling stones more than I do playing this broken instrument. Tell me your thoughts and vote on the poll. Thanks!!

 

[Lord Death]

I agree, the harp only worked half the time,as it would randomly speed up or slow down. It was also very boring to use, unlike the classic ocarina. Heck, even conducting with the Wind Waker was more fun! But overall I voted "didn't like it," because it just sounded awesome.

 

[Links Brother]

I have to say it was terrible. I had high hopes for it, it looked like tons of fun playing on a nice harp which had a wonderful sound. But instead all you got to do was move your arm from side to side to make a boring sound. And it never worked for me, it never read my movements. I have to say it got me mad.

 

[MW7]

I didn't like it. Since I liked all the other instuments in the series, then yes I would consider it the worst instrument ever in a Zelda game. I just highly prefer something with notes to remember over keeping rhythm.

 

[Link8150]

My biggest problem with the harp, is that it wasn't used very often like the Ocarina or Wind Waker, and you couldn't play the songs whenever you wanted.

 

[Sonicbowling]

I was very dissapointed, when I learned the first song I was shocked and mad that it was just Link swiping back and forth, I was expecting more from Nintendo. And you aren't able to really play any songs which is also really dissapointing. This is the only gripe I have of this awesome game!

 

[DeletedUser9]

Lol, all the poll results are tied right now. :xd:

I loved the harp, although it was like the rest of the game in that it was a great execution with some weird flaws that shouldn't have been there. My issues with instruments in past Zelda games are with, well, how they were used. In Ocarina of Time, for example, there was essentially no reason for the Ocarina to exist as an item. You played it to advance special plot sequences, and then primarily for warping and a handful of other odd powers, but this meant you had to stop playing, pull out the item, and input a memorized sequence of buttons (assuming you memorized it; if you didn't then the process became a total pain in the ***). There's no reason that you should have to input a string of buttons to use all of these abilities past maybe the first time you learn or perform it, because it's not really fun. It's not that entertaining for me to actually play the songs in OoT, MM, or TWW, because there's no actual challenge. It's not gameplay. There's no skill involved.

That's why I was a fan of the Spirit Flute in Spirit Tracks, and to a lesser degree the Wolf howling in Twilight Princess, because those both required a degree of skill to perform a song. It was a section of legitimate gameplay, like music games where you have to input buttons with correct timing to play a song. You can fail. It's gameplay.

What I like about the harp is that it is used in story sequences as just that, a section of gameplay that might take a little practice and is actually kind fun to do, and you're not forced to replay the songs all the time to do basic things that should be handled with the press of a button. Additionally, the songs sound gorgeous, and I love how you can mess around with the harp whenever. I know other instruments in other games let you do this, but it feels better here, probably because I have direct control over it.

What I didn't like about the harp, and this is what I was talking about when I mentioned weird design flaws, is that you don't use it that much. You can strum it to activate Gossip Stones and Goddess Walls, but other than that it's used less than sparingly. Now I don't want it to be used for everything, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't implement plenty of moments that use it, just not tie the whole thing into basic actions, because that's annoying. I also don't like that you can't actually replay the songs you learn whenever you want. I love being able to freestyle, but I'd like to be able to perform the stuff I learn too... -.-

 

[Wolf Sage]

I personally liked the timing aspect to the harp. It was required that you keep in time with certain movements whose function was to me akin to a metronome as opposed to previous titles such as OoT where the songs are sort "pre-played" for you. The harp involved actual gameplay and a bit of challenge - as Axle the Beast put it - which was its strong suit. Conversely, I agree with many others here that it could have been used more often, and it would have been nice to be able to replay the tunes you've learned throughout the course of the game.

lol I just like the sound of Fi's singing accompaniment.

 

[Ruby Link]

The controls for the harp really weren't that bad. However, I didn't like the fact that it was barely used, and that, like Axle said, you can't replay songs you've already learned. I think that if Nintendo had added more uses for the harp other than opening the Silent Realms, activating Gossip Stones and Goddess Walls, the harp would've been more accepted. A lot of people didn't like that you didn't play it as often as other Zelda instruments, but hey, what's done is done, and we really can't do anything to change it.

 

[zeldahuman]

The harp was ... okay. As Wolf Sage had said, the timing aspect of the Harp playing was very cool; it felt kind of like you were playing a real instrument. And, as Axle said, in OoT, you played the songs and it "pre-played" it for you... in Skyward Sword, you played in real time and how you played affected what was going on. Also, as Ruby Link said, if Nintendo had added more uses for the Harp, it would have been a cooler addition to the game.

My only complaint is the final part of the Chandelier sidequest; playing the harp while Kina sang. It was... different, than activating the Silent Realms... but yeah... it is what it is.

 

[MikauIncarnate]

I absolutely hated it. I love the way it sounds, and I love the timing thing, and I love the way you play it, but... I absolutely hate the fact that you can't choose what it is you're playing. The first time I ever played MM, I probably spent about 3 or 4 hours just using transformation masks and playing random stuff on the ocarina (we had a pre-owned beaten game.) That's why I was sooooo looking forward to the harp, because I thought with the Wii Motion + it would be even more intuitive to play whatever I want. Then, immediately after I learned the Ballad of the Goddess, I tried to play it, and couldn't. It made me sooo mad when I realized all you could play is chords that accompany the BGM. Ugh. So yeah, I really didn't like it at all. I agree.

 

[Medri]

It was ok, it didn't feel like I was playing any music. Just felt like I wasn't doing anything. However it was quick and easy to do, and it let me get to the point... though If the harp was the main tool ... like LEGEND OF ZELDA SKYWARD HARP! then I'd be pissed that the music wasn't focused on more. But No, it's about the Sword. So it was an afterthought.

 

[Night Owl]

I somehow manage to be able to play it where it sounds terrible with the background music. (I couldn't keep a beat to save my life)
Playing with Kina was torture in my opinion.
I liked playing with the light as that was easy. but I wish we could play and hear Each song again.
I loved how the songs felt familiar as if I heard them before yet they were different.
I feel like it was a good Idea that could've been implemented better.

 

[isaix]

The harp was terrible,I hope we never get an instrument like that in a Zelda game(unless they improve it A LOT).You learn songs and can use the harp wherever you want like Oot,MM,WW and ST,but you can't even use them like the other games,WTF.I got stuck a lot of times trying to play the musics to enter the silent realm because of the broken control of the harp.I miss you Ocarina

 

[Chris073]

Well I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it as well. When I first saw the harp I was pretty excited, but didn't know how they were gonna make it do stuff like they did with the ocarina or even the windwaker.
They could have made the harp more than it was. I liked the idea that you have to move the Wii-remote to make it stroll (?), but they at least could make you use some buttons: like strolling and pressing buttons at the same time, so that you at least had to remember something, like the ocarina.

I liked the idea of the ocarina that you had to remember the songs, I kind of missed that with the harp.
Next instrument has to be a violin (or another ocarina)