The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

After being in development for five years by over a hundred full-time developers, the chronologically first Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, was released to the world this past November. Though I'd had my eye on it for most of that half decade, I did not obtain it myself until late December.

This was the game I had been waiting for longer than most people knew it existed. Critics and developers alike had been saying that it may be the greatest Zelda game of all time, and the hype for the game before its release had grown so large that my expectations were extremely high. When I started the game, I thought to myself, If this game doesn't live up to the hype, I'm going to be pretty dang mad. Within three hours of playing . . . those oh-so-high expectations were already exceeded.

The setting in Skyward Sword is unique. It starts in a world far up in the clouds, specifically the town of Skyloft. Throughout the millenia this strange sky world existed, there have been legends of a vast surface world far beneath the clouds. I would give a short synopsis of the story, but instead of typing one up myself, since I can't find a good one online, you should just play the game yourself. The story, in itself, is probably one of the best video game stories I have ever played through, and I found myself falling in love, once again, with the magnificent world Nintendo created.

One really cool aspect of the game is its use of Wii MotionPlus technology. You wield the Wii remote as you would a sword, so to speak, and the accuracy is truly great. It makes for a fun new way to play through a game, being able to actually slice through obstacles with your saber. Just be sure you don't accidentally break anything in your house from swinging that remote too wildly.

At the first public release of what the game would look like, many were disappointed. It looked like a mixture between Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker, and it just looked horrible. The visuals were eventually changed ever slightly, and regardless, they are actually quite beautiful once you get used to them. As one of the lead developers mentioned years ago, it's meant  to look a little bit as if it could be in a painting. This is especially true when looking off into the distance. I am quite satisfied with the final graphics, and they fit the game better than any other style could have.

I usually give a game's soundtrack a good rating if it fits the game well, regardless of if it's a good score on its own. For Skyward Sword, however, the music was not only fitting, but it was one of the best game soundtracks I have ever heard. Though it has never happened for any other game, I've found myself wanting to buy the OST. Unfortunately, it is not currently available.

The amount of content is actually quite large, and you can literally spend hours playing minigames and completing side quests. However, I do have to say that with Skyward Sword's format I really do miss Hyrule Field. The game takes place long before the kingdom of Hyrule was ever established, so it would be impossible to implement it in, but there is so much more you would be able to do if you had a massive overworld field to explore. Most other games in the Zelda series have one, but the game that took the series to its highest peak didn't. It was a little disappointing, but the amount of content they fit into a game without such a place (without packing it in tightly at all) is outright inspiring.

Skyward Sword uses many elements from previous Zelda games, and improves them, ranging from returning enemies to items to even the treasure system. There are numerous subtle references to games that take place later in the chronology, such as finding a forest spring identical to a key location in a game that takes place thousands of years later, or occasionally finding Hyrule's sacred crest without the Triforce.

Of course, there is no such thing as a game without flaws. Skyward Sword has furthered the maturity of the Zelda series with its upgrade in quality level, full effort put into the soundtrack and story, and several other aspects that have made the game amazing, but there are still little things here and there that did not make the jump to higher maturity. The dialog of the game is all in text, so there isn't vocal speaking for the player to hear, yet still there are voice actors for groans, breathing, sighing, etc. In theory it's not a bad idea, but in Skyward Sword it's terrible. In addition, the poses and expressions Link still makes when he gets a new item are sickeningly childish.

The biggest downside of them all is actually your sidekick and companion, Fi. Fi is the intelligent being or artificial intelligence who lives in your sword, and who's duty it is to guide and assist you on your quest. She can project an image of herself, but can make no physical contact. The only good thing about her is the fact the that she looks cool, but that's about it. Of all the companions who have assisted the different incarnations of Link throughout the thousands of years that different Zelda games take place, many have been unbearably annoying. Navi, your ever-constantly-bugging-you fairy in Ocarina of Time, has often thought to be one of the most annoying companions in any video game. I would have to say Fi is even worse. She seems to have an obsession of telling you the completely obvious facts (and not the things you actually need to know), and making sure she elaborates in full, or more than full, often boring the player to the point where they feel like throwing their controller across the room. It doesn't help that she . . . always . . . talks . . . extremely . . . slowly. . . .

In conclusion, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword may be one of the best games I've ever played. At present it is dueling The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for being both my favorite Zelda game of all time, but also my favorite Wii game of all time. The story, setting, graphics, music, gameplay, variety, locations, and overall ingenuity of it all made for an amazing experience. Nintendo doesn't cease to amaze me, and I can't wait for the next home console Zelda release. No doubt that will be in another five years.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword gets a well-deserved 10/10.

Commentary: Seven Lies about Homeschoolers

On January 16, 2012, YouTube user Blimey Cow released a video that received a lot of circulation around Facebook and people I know. And by a lot, I mean a lot. You can check it out below.



I thought it was hilarious. As many of you know, I was homeschooled through eighth grade and now attend a private high school, uncoincidentally founded by my mother. The video is full of great (and quite true) points, but I thought I would give a few points of my own. Here is my take on Blimey Cow's "Seven Lies about Homeschoolers."

7. Homeschoolers are really sheltered.

I actually was really sheltered when I was younger: I hadn't even heard of 9/11 until a few years ago. When I found out, I reacted, "What!? Why didn't anybody tell me about it?" It turns out that, apparently, I was told, but that was a decade ago. I just wasn't ever told again, until I found out myself just a few years ago. But for his point about Lady Gaga... I hadn't heard of her until just a year or two ago, and I regret doing so.

The coolest latest movies? I know more about upcoming movies than probably eighty percent of the entire United States of America! I do research and find things years before they come out. I knew about The Hobbit movies half a decade ago, even though they started filming only a year ago, whereas many people still don't yet know it exists. I have loads of information about upcoming movies and film adaptations that most people don't know have even thought up yet. If someone were to think that because I was homeschooled and later private schooled I didn't know about the coolest latest movies, they've lost my respect and will never get it back.

Hmm... I was pulverized by the real world. Actually no, not a real world. It's called the internet. I was an innocent, partially sheltered child when I first stumbled onto a certain internet forum. It wasn't like others I had been to: this one was crawling with trolls. That changed me. Over the course of three years, that really did change me.

I say I was sheltered, but actually, I know many other people who have been far more sheltered than me. That mock example shown in the video? Unfortunately, I've known people like that. Their parents shouldn't even call themselves parents. But if you think all homeschoolers are like that, do more research.

6. All homeschoolers go to church 7 days a week.

Oh, shoot, I only go once a week. Is that a bad thing? Does that mean I lied about being homeschooled? Thankfully, I don't know anybody like the weirdo in the example given, but I know they're out there. Actually, I have heard of that guy's church denomination. It's called a psychiatric hospital.

That's another thing: people seem to think of all homeschoolers as Bible thumpers. I just have to say that is utterly ridiculous. Many are, but many more are not,

5. Homeschoolers don't actually do school.

My school is easier now in private school—a place where former public school students comment that the work is hard—than it was my eighth grade year of homeschooling. It's true that my private school is much more organized, and the teachers do everything in their power to make it easier for you, while still forcing you to learn things, but homeschooling was pretty dang hard. The upside to that? I got an actual education, unlike most public school attendees I know.

Trust me, homeschoolers do school, and we do a lot of it. And it's a lot more fun than public school, according to almost every public-schooler-turned-homeschooler I've ever met. I know far too many public schoolers who do almost no school. Why? Because they don't really care. For a homeschooler or a private schooler, people confront you when you have bad grades and force you to do better. Sometimes at my school, if somebody's grades are too low in a subject, they need to stay at school afterward and work with a teacher until they have learned or studied enough.

4. It's impossible for homeschoolers to have friends.

I actually didn't have that many friends during my homeschooling years, and it depressed me. But my problem wasn't that I couldn't have friends, it was that I couldn't stand other kids my age. For some reason, people in my grade have always, throughout my entire life, been annoying and stupid. No offense to any public-schooled ninth and tenth graders reading this; I was making a generalization that (hopefully, though maybe not, depending on who you are) does not apply to you.

I used to live in a log cabin, actually. Well, a house that years and years and years ago was built up around a log cabin. It was the closest you could get to the wilderness around here, since it was on the property of a summer camp that had miles of trails through the woods and fields. But no, it wasn't an hour away from Walmart. More like ten minutes.

3. Homeschoolers are really shy.

This is true for me, but not for pretty much any other homeschooler I have ever met. What scares me is that the example given actually brings back memories. Whoops, did I say that?

As you can probably figure out, I have changed much since then. ;)

2. Homeschoolers have no lives.

This one actually made me laugh my head off. I had to stumble around blindly until I found it again and could put it back on my torso. It wasn't that hard, because I was still laughing, so I just followed the sound of the laughter.

I used to get up before everyone else and go outside for an hour or so. To get to school ever day, there's no bus: you get out of bed and walk down the stairs. You get your work done in the early morning and have the entire rest of the day to do whatever you want. If you're bored and want to take a quick break from school, go outside and climb a tree or something. You can have other homeschoolers come over to your house and do your work together; that way you're getting your needed education and hanging out with your best friend at the same time!

Many times I have come across people who think homeschoolers have no lives. I used to get angry at them, but in the future I think I'll just laugh at them. The concept is hilarious, after all. :)

1. Homeschoolers do school in their pajamas.

"But this isn't so much a lie as it is... a reality. It is the very, very, very best thing about being homeschooled."

I completely agree with that statement, but why then list it as one of seven lies about homeschoolers? That's an inconsistency there, Blimey Cow. But regardless, it's true, and it's awesome.

In Conclusion...

Homeschoolers probably aren't what you think. In fact, I know more smart people who were homeschooled than smart people who were public schooled.

You may have noticed from this article I have a grudge against public schoolers. Do you wonder why this is? No reason. Just the fact that most I've met have very perverted minds and don't care if what they say is offensive to anybody. They're often terribly educated, and far too many times I've found myself gaping at their pathetic attempts to spell or at the utter stupidity in their logic.

I'm not trying to say that all public schoolers are like that, or even that most are. It might be true, but I know there are many people out there who would be offended if I said so. I certainly don't believe any such thing. As a matter of fact, some of my best friends are public schooled. One such friend likes making fun of other people in his grade because, as people who hang around him can easily deduce, he has the IQ of somebody many years older than he is. I'm thinking that might be due to the fact that he was homeschooled for several years.

Anyway, thanks for reading my article. I put a good three hours into it, and I hope you got something from it.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

After months of persuasion from many friends, I finally picked up The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I read it in five days which, for somebody who reads as slow as I do, is pretty fast. I made a point to learn absolutely nothing about the novel before reading it. Whenever my friends started talking about it, I'd find some excuse not to listen to them. In an unfortunate event, I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie when I went to the theater to see Courageous. That partially ruined my experience reading the book, but I still loved it.

In a bizarre future where North America was long destroyed and replaced by the tyrannous country of Panem, two teenagers, between the ages twelve and eighteen, are annually taken from each of the twelve districts and set into an arena, miles wide, to fight to the death. This tradition was started over seventy years ago by the government as a reminder of a long-past failed rebellion, and each time the entire country was forced to watch. The Hunger Games, as they were called, could take weeks, and the victor of each would live out the rest of their live in luxury. The losers... wound up dead, because they needed to be for the victor to win.

Katniss Evendeen is shocked when her twelve-year-old sister, Primrose, is of the selected to participate in the games. Out of desperation, Katniss herself volunteers in her sister's place. About a week later she finds herself in the arena—the beginning of which is a bloodbath, by any definition—fighting for her life. But that's just a quick summary. If you want to know what really happened in those terrible Hunger Games, you will have to read the book yourself.

I was shocked by the emotion in this tale. Though I didn't like it at first, the author was able to bleed emotion like very few can by writing the entire story in first-person present from Katniss's point of view. The story throughout the entire book was amazing and there are several times when you just think, that is so cool! The futuristic world is intriguing, and sometimes it's a little weird, but it makes for a great setting.

The Hunger Games is a wonderful read. It was very well thought out, and a great story. It is the first book in a trilogy, but it concludes with virtually no loose ends. It works perfect as a standalone, and I have no idea what the sequel could possibly be about. That's a good thing, because I don't want that book spoiled as well.

Never before have I had so much, emotionally, in common with a female main character. Sometimes Katniss can remind me a little of myself, with the thoughts that run through her head, and sometimes she's completely different. Overall, she made for a perfect protagonist.

If you haven't read The Hunger Games already, I highly recommend you do.

Reuben's Ramblings: Silent Protagonists

You know what I find very interesting about some video games? Silent protagonists. An NPC (non-player character) asks the protagonist, "Will you help us?" The main character remains completely silent but gives some implication of consent. The NPC then says, "Thank you! Our fate is in your hands!"

What?

You just handed the fate of the entire world (or possibly multiple worlds) into the hands of somebody who never learned how to talk and has probably had no training whatsoever in any sort of fighting? Okay, in the Legend of Zelda series, the protagonist often starts as a strong young man. One who grew up on a farm or training to be a knight or some other way that would leave him being quite strong and capable at the beginning of a game. But what about games such as Chrono Trigger, where the main character has no previous training before the story begins?

This is something I've pondered about for a long time. It hasn’t troubled me—frankly, I find it quite hilarious—but you just have to wonder why so many story-oriented games have almost or completely silent protagonists. I get that they want it to seem like the player fits into the character's role (heck, you can often name your own characters), but I really prefer games where the main character actually has a personality. It’s left for the player’s imagination, but frankly, my imagination really sucks. Games with silent protagonists often seem to me to portray their main characters as… kind of dumb.

In truth, I wouldn’t have it any other way. In the games I’ve mentioned and more, it just wouldn’t be the same with talking protagonists. But then again, look at games such as Tales of Symphonia or several of the Final Fantasy games. Those games could have had silent protagonists and still have been pretty cool, but because their protagonists were given voices and personalities, they were absolutely amazing. Of course, that was also due to the games having amazing plots.

I don’t know where this is going. I can’t imagine Link with a personality, and sometimes giving normally silent characters a personality is not such a good idea. Look at what happened to Metroid.

December 1941 by Craig Shirley

Though I couldn't spend as much time with Craig Shirley's book as I would have liked, December 1941 is a very interesting, day-by-day summary of all that went on in one of the most important months of all of World War II. Each chapter is an account of one day, and overall it makes for a very interesting book.

The amount of research put into this book is outstanding. You can understand that just from reading any part of the 544-page book. And then, once you get to the end, you find 94 pages of small print notes and bibliographies. That is a heck of a lot of notes!

December 1941 is best read a chapter a day. I would recommend starting on December 1, and finishing on December 31. Of course, you can't do that now, since it's January, but any other 31-day month would work as well. Or, of course, you could read it at any pace you like. I'm just giving a suggestion.

The book itself was quite interesting. I admit I wasn't able to get through all of it without any skipping around a lot, but it's the kind of book where that is easily allowed. Obviously, since it's non-fiction, it's not like you need to read every last part to be sure of what's going on. It's well-written and easy to read. The amount of research put into it is amazing, and it's definitely something I would recommend to anyone into World War II history or history in general.

December 1941 was publicly released on December 6, 2011.
This book was sent to me for free from Thomas Nelson Publishing. http://www.BookSneeze.com/

Reuben's Ramblings: Cutting

There are some things I just find hard to understand. One of those things is cutting. Teens inflict physical pain on themselves in order to forget about emotional pain in their lives. I have been depressed before—some would strongly disagree, but I can hide my feelings well—but I have never had the slightest impulse to inflict that much pain on myself. Sometimes I've wanted to inflict pain on others, sometimes I just feel like breaking things, but I’ve never wanted to do anything quite as… painful to one's self as cutting is.

It could just be that I have an abnormal fear of physical pain—this fact is probably due to how physically weak I am—or it could be for some other reason. But whether or not I've had the impulse to cut myself has nothing to do with this. It's what has given the impulse to others that does.

Until a couple years ago I didn't know much about cutting. I knew it existed, but I didn't really think about it much. Then I read the Patrick Bowers Files by Steven James. Tessa, the daughter of the main character, was a cutter. Thankfully she changed over the course of the series, but it still scared me. It was the first time cutting was really explained to me, and I was exasperated that so many people would actually do it.

I now know several people who used to cut, and even some that still do. These people always try to hide it when you talk to them, and that in itself is depressing. I once told a friend, "Cutting won't help anything." She retorted, angrily, "I don't cut to help myself. I cut to punish myself for living." Seriously, what has this world come to that thousands or millions of people would inflict terrifying pain on themselves just because they hated themselves? Every person hates themselves at one point in their life or another, but sometimes I'm shocked by the degree people will take it to.

What is the point of this rant? There is none, really. Sometimes I just need to get things out of my system. If you're a teen and you cut or are tempted to do so, just stop! Isn't there some other way to bleed out your depression or anger? Start a depression journal or blog. Do something else. Just find some other way to release your anger. Cutting just saddens me.

Omitted Stories

My brother: Number one on your list is Star Wars, right?
Me: Well... it didn't cross my mind what I was writing the article.
My brother: What!?
[A minute of reading later...]
My brother: Oh, okay. A worthy replacement.

---------

A week and a half ago I wrote an article called the Top Ten Stories of All Time. I highly recommend you read it.

Unfortunately, there were some key stories omitted from the list. Either due to my forgetfulness, or because they just barely didn't make it on. Here are three of the omissions, in no particular order.

0. Star Wars
I don't know whether to go with the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, both combined, or everything combined with the Expanded Universe. I believe that Star Wars is, by a long shot, the largest franchise ever made. The films have a pretty great story, but they barely begin to compare to the vastness of the Expanded Universe, which consists of hundreds of novels. I have read many, but in reality I've only read a drop in the bucket. How this failed to get onto the list, I do not know.

0. BIONICLE
Some people call it a bunch of little kid's toys, but I call it one of the most-overlooked fantasy series of all time. Heck, I don't care about the toys. The story is just awesome. As a young kid, (I'm guessing when I was about 9-12) I absolutely loved the books. The BIONICLE Chronicles, BIONICLE Adventures, and BIONICLE Legends series used to be my favorite books of all time. It's true, they're written for young people, but they're still pretty dang awesome. I've been a fan of BIONICLE since the beginning in 2001, when I was five years old, and still forever I'll stand up against people who claim it's "just a bunch of kid's toys." My favorite books in any of the series are Voyage of Fear, Time Trap and Legacy of Evil.

0. The Patrick Bowers Files
The Patrick Bowers Files by Steven James are my all-time favorite crime novels. James himself is my favorite author. It was omitted from the list due to other amazing stories placing higher than it, but it really is a masterpiece. You can't help but love the main characters, and the story grips you and draws you in like few stories can. If you're into crime novels, definitely check these out. But please, please, read the books in order. My favorites in the series are the first one, The Pawn, along with the third one, The Knight.