Skyward Sword and the Uncanny Valley

Comments · 160

• WU

  @Wupar · 3 months ago

  I thought this was gonna be a 33-minute-long video about SS Link's overly-rendered eyebags and lips.

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• AL

  @alyssaaddison2604 · 3 months ago

  Having demise instead of Ganondorf is kind of funny because while traditionally Ganon isn&apos;t at all redeemable... the idea that Demise cursed the trio and peoples&apos; theories that Demise is the reason Ganon <b>turns</b> bad, makes Ganon potentially redeemable. At least for fanfic writers, lmao

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• MU

  @muscmilk · 3 months ago

  Theres a deliciously thick and juicy story idea of Ganon learning of his fate/curse, and seeking Zelda and Link in order to undo this curse, either failing or succeeding. And its really frustrating that the team hasnt used this yet, it feels like such a free home run of a story too.

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• CA

  @captaincrackhead904 · 3 months ago

  The bettle is genuinely my favorite item in any Zelda game ever. While it has explicit uses and evolves like other items, it also interacts with the environment in discoverable ways like scaring enemies. Also flying a litte guy around is pretty fun tbh.

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• AS

  @aster4jaden · 3 months ago

  I love listening to the different perspectives of each Zelda fan.

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• RA

  @Rayneyrayney · 3 months ago

  The way Link is portrayed and his expressions in SS always felt uncanny to me. He looks much like the Link we know, but something is *off*. His eyebags are prominent and he constantly does what looks like a thousand-yard stare (the thumbnail is a perfect example of this). He looks tired and shell-shocked. Perhaps the devs are trying to communicate that they are tired of retelling the same story over and over again.

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• SO

  @Sonnance · 3 months ago (edited)

  First off, thank you for highlighting how, for better or for worse, Skyward Sword was in many ways a deviation from the series&apos; mold. In the years since (especially post BotW) a narrative has been spun that SS was faithful to the formula to a fault, and by extension, a showcase of why the formula needed to go. This never sat right with me as for all its strengths and flaws, SS felt like a pretty significant deviation from the Zelda formula the closer you looked.<br><br>And second, I think most every 3D game post OoT has kinda been an examination of what it means to live in the shadow of the game, and its legacy. WW was about letting go of the past to build something new, as you mentioned, but I think this runs through all the 3Dgames to a degree. TP, for example, sees a Hyrule in decline. Stagnant, and resting on legacy, its leader lacking the courage to act for a better future. And that lack of courage can be seen across the cast, some who overcome it and find their courage... And some who don&apos;t (particularly the big names of the Twili.) Then there&apos;s BotW which shows us a kingdom ruined by its expectation that the way of the past is inevitable, and shows us a Ganon who&apos;s been eroded of all personhood by the endless cycles of the ages. (Granted, TotK contradicts this, but... Well I don&apos;t have time to get into that game&apos;s issues today, lol.) <br><br>Regardless, I think this idea of being stuck in OoT&apos;s shadow and chained to its legacy is something the developers have been exploring in their games since OoT came out. This framing can even go a ways towards justifying some of SS&apos; biggest criticisms, like its overall linearity, handholdiness, and restrictive &quot;overworld&quot; areas. Both in-universe and out, it reinforces the themes of a lack of agency due to having a role to play.

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• BR

  @bro-dude99 · 3 months ago

  I thought this was gonna be a satirical video about how the game’s art style looks uncanny that makes fun of people calling the OoT remake’s art style uncanny. Great video

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• MA

  @mariacargille1396 · 3 months ago

  I hadn&apos;t really thought of Skyward Sword this way before, but you did a good job of laying out your arguement and evidence. I mostly interacted with Ocarina of Time and Skyward Sword growing up, so I didn&apos;t have the perspective to notice how strange the game really is in a wider context. Good stuff!

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• CE

  @celestialstormcloud · 3 months ago

  the one note i will add is that the reason ww got so much backlash was that they had revealed a demo of a tp esque gritty zelda game a year or two before ww&apos;s release, implying that the next (console) game after majora&apos;s mask would be a darker, more adult aimed zelda game. when wind waker ended up being the next title, a lot of people were disappointed because it seemed like a backslide into more brightly colored game with more kid friendly elements in mind. it wasnt a negative reaction that came out of nowhere; the fans were basically told to expect twilight princess instead and had the rug pulled from underneath them. despite that, wind waker is still a beloved title for many, and twilight princess is considered an overlooked title.<br>this was an interesting analysis though! skyward sword was my first zelda game, so i never really sat down and compared the experience to other titles in the series until now. a lot of the similar but different mechanics id imagine were due to the motion controls, as most games that came out on the wii around that time had them integrated in a somewhat sloppy way. your video also made me think about how odd it was for me to watch a playthrough of twilight princess years later, because sksw borrowed a lot of elements from tp so it felt like running into an older sibling of a close friend that you havent met before. uncanny valley is a great description of it.

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• NA

  @nab267 · 3 months ago

  Skyward sword didn&apos;t seem all that weird to me but my first Zelda game was Spirit Tracks

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• UN

  @UnsightlyMuse · 3 months ago (edited)

  I love watching video essays about Skyward Sword. You raise an interesting argument, <br>particularly with regards to the uncanny presence of Demise as the true villain instead of Ganondorf; the story frames itself as the progenitor for all the elements that make up the beloved Zelda formula (while simultaneously making the player question these very aspects), so I find it fitting that the first villain in the canon is something more…primordial, otherworldly. For some further commentary on the game’s narrative/thematic subversion and role of the game in the Zelda franchise, I highly recommend the videos ‘Skyward Sword&apos;s Hidden Revelation’ by Hylian Dan and ‘Skyward Sword is a game about the Legend of Zelda’ by Health Potion Café.

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