The Legend of Zelda: Just so damn happy

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So less than 48 hours ago I was obsessed/having nostalgia time with FFVII and working on a relatively ambitious fanart (it's somewhere in the sandbox forum right now if you care)

And then I played like, 3 hours of Skyward Sword and BAM it just HIT ME IN THE FACE WITH ITS AWESOME. As much as I hate to admit it, I had been losing faith in Nintendo's ability and vision for the Zelda series the past couple years but this game reassures me that they've still got that magic touch when they want to.

I've essentially barely played the game and the cynic in me keeps trying to tell me that given how little of the game I've played or even seen to withhold judgment until I've gotten through at least most of it instead of psyching myself out so early on and possibly barrel to great disappointment later. But holy hell, this is the game I've been waiting for if it keeps being this awesome. In short, I get that magical whimsical happy feeling without the game itself being kiddy or toned down. In long, well…

The controls for the most part are damn solid, by far the best motion sensing controls yet, actually traveling around the world feels tangible and is fun (Link can actually SPRINT AND JUMP WHAT IS THIS MADNESS. He doesn't feel sluggish anymore, though he still a horrible swimmer xP), combat is fun and somewhat challenging (there's a reason you start with 6 hearts instead of 3).

And all the characters and animations are incredibly fluid and expressive. The NPCs have quite a lot of character, but wow, Link and Zelda can express a world of emotion with their eyes alone. It's incredible how beautiful, full of life, and well crafted the world is in motion—screenshots definitely do not do Skyward Sword justice. I mean, you can still tell the Wii is underpowered compared to what something on PS3 or 360 could do, but damn.

The music too is fantastic. It's epic and breathtaking in scope with some of the tracks finally (FINALLY!) being fully orchestrated. The ones that are still sampled work as well and the switch actually isn't as jarring as I thought it would be, probably due to the nature of the compositions. But just…OMG JUST LISTEN TO THE OVERWORLD/SKY THEME. CLICK NOW CLICK NOW PROPER FLYING MUSIC THIS IS (kinda reminds me of Mario Galaxy actually. :D well, same people so it makes sense haha) I also think they've finally hit a good balance of gibberish speak with the text boxes that it's not annoying but not too silent either. (I personally am not really a fan of full voice acting as I tend to just read the text boxes and skip listening to the whole thing, even when the VA is well done)

Just. Tears in my eyes, man. :'D

Ok, now that my SS rant is finally out…

so uh yeah, 1 hour speedpaint of SS Link, Photoshop CS5 and Wacom Bamboo, nothing too interesting but I've definitely got a much better feel of how to draw him now that I've seen him in action compared to my previous attempt at illustrating this game, which is so stiff and apprehensive.

I wanna paint like you ;___________________;
I haz a tablet, but I can't be as awesome as you.

The Legend of Zelda: Just so damn happy

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DarthTofu

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