Villain Analysis: Ganondorf (TP) vs Demise

Oh boy, it's time for a follow-up article! Now, if you've been around long enough, you'll remember I did a little page wherein I compared the right-hands-of-evils of two Legend of Zelda games: Zant of Twilight Princess and Ghirahim of Skyward Sword. That mostly turned into me ranting about all the things I hated about Zant and gushing about Ghirahim since they fill the same roles in the game but the execution of one was vastly superior to the other. Here, I'll bet there's gonna be a bit more neutrality since I like both these bosses, and I just felt like posting more, and a follow-up felt in order, and because I like run-on sentences.

Villain Analysis: Zant vs. Ghirahim

Okay, so I guess I slacked off doing that Project Runway blog, and by "slacked off" I mean "Never put in the time or energy into doing it at all." So instead of that (or my looking at game shows which I'll get back to in time) I'm going to look at the villains of some Legend of Zelda games. Why? Well because I certainly can't look at the two different protagonists, for one, but also because in any work, it's the villain that makes or breaks it. Don't think that's an original observation or anything; Roger Ebert said something similar when he reviewed Wrath of Khan. Also, I just want to emphasize how much Nintendo learned how to properly write for an antagonist after forgetting halfway through Twilight Princess.

Let's Podcast - 2011 Year in Review

Just like last year, this year we decided to do a Podcast about all the games we played in 2011. Everything from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword to the 3DS to Portal 2 to the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The five us plus our good pal Phil share our opinions and thoughts about 2011 in Video games all while I play The Legend of Zelda quite poorly in honor of Zelda's 25th anniversary.

The first part is below, follow the annotation at the end to get to the next part.

VGM of the Week #6

It's Sunday, and to make sure Josh doesn't steal my thunder this week, I'm posting this at 4:30 AM.

Here is my personal favorite from Skyward Sword.


I didn't think most of the tracks in Skyward Sword were really memorable but this stood out to me. Right as you land on the Isle of Songs, this very calm and soothing melody begins to play as you try solve the puzzle to get inside the place. It was like no one had been there for a really long time. I felt at peace.

I believe this also plays when you're at the big goddess statue on Skyloft.

Review - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

A warning: please be aware that while this review does not contain plot spoilers, it does contain minor character and boss spoilers.

Skyward Sword is a terrific game.

But of course it is, right? We've come to expect such accolades from a Zelda game. No, the question becomes, when discussing a new Zelda adventure, how terrific is it?

Is it exceptional? Is it a masterpiece? Is it the new best Zelda game? Questions like these in a review like this might typically end with "Yes and no." I'd like to answer them with "Yes... but almost no."