What Do You Think of Flying the Loftwing?

[Meego]

So it appears that flying your loftwing is the main way of travelling from land to land in Skyward Sword. Link dives off the edge of somewhere, or warps with the sailcloth from a bird statue and whistles to summon his bird. During the ceremony where you have to catch the golden bird (which really reminded me of Quidditch) you are introduced properly to the flying controls. You have been told how to work them and you have to practise them by chasing the golden bird to win. The NPC's here are weak but the controls still took a while for me to grasp properly. I think the main thing I had a problem with at first was getting stuck in the bottom of the clouds and fog and the loftwing just sits there flapping and you can't get out. I've been known to not pay too much attention when Link is told about the controls, but sometimes they aren't explained too well. The idea is to tilt your remote to fly in different directions. Like Epona, the loftwing has three little icons representing boosts of speed. I don't find these very useful; they don't make you go very far or anything. I think the remote is a little too sensitive and you have to keep a steady hand at points. You have to shake the remote to swoop upwards in speed, but the way they instructed it at first confused me and I didn't really pick that up. But once I got hang of it I don't mind it that much but when you get into a circle of not being able to quite get where you want, you get stuck sometimes. That was only in the first few minutes and I got it later, but when Groose started throwing things at me I kept getting hit. >_< Despite this, I managed to get the golden bird in the end. My brother had the same problem with the loftwing getting stuck in the low clouds and fog though.

I like the idea of the flying being the main means of transport in this game, though. This is mainly because you are not constantly flying for long periods of time at a really slow speed. If you dive off the right bit of land, you can get to your destination quite quickly. It's not like Spirit Tracks, Phantom Hourglass or Wind Waker with extremely slow boats. I haven't played through the game yet though, so there may be areas that take more time to get to.

I love the general design and nature of these birds. The concept of diving off somewhere and whistling to summon your bird is quite unique and fun. The sailcloth is also quite a good idea, because your loftwing drops you from quite a height sometimes. But the sailcloth is won in the ceremony so I wonder how the others don't go splat when they land. xD But I think I expected flying of some kinds for Skyward Sword, because most other ways of getting around have been taken.

What do you think of the flying?

 

[Pixel]

Well,it took me a while to get used to the controls, but it was the same thing with the sword.
I still haven't beaten the game yet,but I think it's okay ...
Tbh I didn't love it,but I didn't hate it either. It's okay,I just think it's a little complicated ...

 

[Ventus]

Personally, I'm not all that into flying but the design of the Loftwing is absolutely fantastic. It's not that the controls are off, actually that is quite the opposite, it's just that I am accustomed to horse riding being the main means of transportation. I guess that was axed with the advent of sprinting, but whatever.

Flying around the Sky is a bit limited seeing as there are only a handful of islands to visit, but the mere sight is awe-inducing in my opinion. Oh, and Meego, I think the boosts do make you go pretty far. Not immediately, but the speed pickup gained by simply pressing A is wonderful. Useful for all sorts of things, be it traveling to the next zone or trying to chase off things within a thunderhead of clouds. All in all, flying is a great concept and the only thing I'd want more of is more islands.

 

[Link_Hyrule]

I personally like the Loftwing far better than Epona for numerous reasons. The main reason being that it's much more fun to fly around than it is to just ride on a horse. I love the fact that I can jump off the ledge of skyloft, and whistle for my Loftwing to come and swoop me up. There is a slight learning curve with the control scheme, but I feel like it isn't steep.

I also enjoy flying downward and than swooping up to gain speed. I personally haven't missed Epona yet, but this might come with time.

 

[TF/HH]

I was very excited for the flying element, but it's really hard for me to control. I had a ton of trouble when Zelda was trying to get me to use the sailcloth.

 

[demonsxlr8]

Personally i LOVE flying in the loftwing, it's like the best way of travel in any Zelda Game, i don't miss Epona at all! (Sorry Epona, but the big bird is... awesome)
I find the controls really smooth and responsive, the only bad thing about flying is that there isn't many islands to explore, but i have fun just flying around xD

 

[maiden]

the flying controls are perfect for me, even though i would like to see epona back in the next game I defenetly want to see bird riding back in a future game as well

 

[Josh]

I'm still finding it to be incredibly frustrating.

The problem I have with it, is it's almost.....too responsive. Every little movement I make takes me in some different I don't want to go in, and I end up going around in endless circles because of that little movement. I dunno, it could just be me not being used to these controls yet, but I'm not the biggest fan of them so far.

And, besides, I had NO idea that you could raise your height by shaking the remote up and down. That screwed me up big time.

 

[Links Brother]

I've only just started to fly but so far it's smooth, fast, cool, and tons of fun. My only problem with the sky in general is the lack of things to do on the islands. It my take a bit of time to get from place to place but hey! It's better than Wind Waker

 

[Forlong]

The controls are a bit awkward. I have to struggle to get my loftwing to fly exactly where I want it. This doesn't become much of a problem because of the wide expanses. You don't need to be accurate most of the time, so it is forgiving. The feel of it is great, the controls just need some tweaking to make it perfect.

 

[Kappa]

I really enjoy flying. I like how much faster it is to get around, and the graphics and detail are amazing. I love doing it, but I love wind in the first place. I found the controls to be a little troublesome at first, but then I figured it out. I think that its a nice new way for transportation in Zelda.

Spoiler

Looking for something to do? Visit the pumpkin island after slicing your first Goddess Cube. Be prepared to to work (if you break the chandileir that is )

 

[~SkullKid~]

I really had a hard time getting used to the controls, I agree, its too sensitive.

 

[Rytex]

I liked the controls. I personally liked what happened when you tried to talk to Groose after you win the Sailcloth.

 

[LinkIsAwesomest]

Oh, flying is a BLAST!! I swear I could just fly around in circles going no where for an hour, and listen to the music, and look at the beautiful clouds, and yeeaahhh... <3

My FAVORITE thing to do is to go ALLL THE WWAYYY UPP, right up to the VERY TOP OF THE SKY, then DIIIIIVVVVEEEE!!!!

It's SO MUCH FUN!!

I HAVE NO PROBLEM AT ALL WITH CONTROLS!!

The getting sucked into teh clouds thing happend to me too, but guys, it's not Nintendo's fault or whatever, it's our fault. If you actually press 2 and read the help icons, they tell you exactly what to do. NOW FLYING IS THE MOST FUN EVER!!

I used to love Trihorse (aka Epona) but now I could just never go back

 

[Destiny]

It's amazing. At first, I didn't know how to raise my altitude by shaking the remote, but after that it's totally fine. I mean, I'm probably not very good at it in the first place. My poor bird probably would look like it had been through a cheese grater in reality. I always ram it into walls. I wish you could actually fly into the land below though, that would be cool. I'm hoping to get some combat on it eventually, I'm not yet far into the game, but from the little I've seen so far, it's awesome.

The music is generally entertaining, and the view is spectacular. It really is just peaceful riding your bird. There are not very many enemies from what I have seen so far, except for the occasional twister I've encountered. The controls feel good to me, a little finicky here and there, but generally they feel just fine. I don't even feel the need to re-calibrate often. I wish there were more islands however. In this point in time, it feels a little barren with only a few rocks here and there, or a single house on an isolated island. It seems kind of unlikely there would be only one city to support a civilization, oh well, maybe they don't have very many babies? I have yet to explore the boundaries of the sky, but it seems quite extensive. I look forward to seeing if the flying can become even more interactive.