The Legend of Zelda is one of those series that does not need a huge introduction, much like a series like Star Wars; it defines the word classic, and is simply a masterpiece. Unlike Star Wars, the Zelda series has had an unclear timeline, not knowing which game is the first of the series, and not knowing which game comes next. Fans like me kept wondering when the kingdom of Hyrule first came to be, and often resulted in endless, pointless debates on the internet wondering which game was truly the first in the series. Much like Star Wars, Nintendo responded by making a prequel to the series and how the story began. The story is simple, yet the characters makes the plot effective, the gameplay is simply amazing and cannot be replicated with basic controls, the music is astounding, and the lore of the entire series is set, so even newcomers can be easily be drawn into the world of the series.
Story
Nintendo, the company responsible for making famous series such as Mario and Zelda aren’t known for their groundbreaking stories, both series often involved princesses getting captured by some jackass, the male leads rescue them, defeat the last boss, save the princess, save the kingdom, and male protagonists not living happily after and having to do this again and again until the end of time. So, what is Skyward Sword’s plot? The same plot that I just listed, but Nintendo made some adjustments to the classic Zelda formula. The characters are what make this plot actually work, since they actually have some personality this time around. The story takes place in the magical land of Skyloft, where the most evil beings are kittens, (I’m serious). It’s time for the graduation ceremony in the Knight Academy, where only one out of a potential amount of recruits is selected through a competition to become a knight. Link is among one of the recruits to be involved in the competition and has the opportunity to become a knight. Link wins said competition, and also wins an opportunity to spend the day with his best friend, Zelda. However, in predictable fashion, Zelda gets kidnapped by a dark tornado, and Link gets knocked to Skyloft. Eventually, Link finds a spirit of a sword named Fi, who says Link is destined to rescue Zelda by saving the world beneath Skyloft called the Surface, (clever, right?). Like I said, the story is basic, but the characters really make the plot work. Link, the main character is silent, and has been throughout the series, more or less to reflect the player controlling him. Thankfully, you can make him say several lines like “Nice Hair” or “Great…Costume.” so at least he has some personality this time around, although it’s very limited. Zelda, who the game is named after just steals the show in this game. She’s happy-go-lucky, strong, and can easily stand up for herself. Zelda in this game is not a princess, rather she’s a very close friend to Link, and her relationship does not feel forced. The game borders on Link’s relationship with Zelda, and this time, it feels that Link isn’t trying to rescue a kingdom, but trying to rescue his friend. You’ve also got several great secondary characters such as Groose, a fellow knight recruit, and Link’s rival, who I swear is the reincarnation of Biff Tannen from Back to the Future, and Fi, Link’s guide throughout the game, who acts almost like a robot, telling you percentages of certain outcomes, and acting cold and emotionless. Even the villain, Ghirahim, (try saying that name five time fast) is interesting, he looks like a glam rocker from the 70’s, (I got a David Bowie vibe from this guy). He acts as a pure gentleman, acting dignified and restrained, even when Link complicates his plans. One thing about the plot, it starts out pretty slow for the first two hours. It’s one of those games where you have to stick with the exposition for a bit before the game truly shines.
Gameplay/Controls
Skyward Sword is a game that is focused entirely around the use of motion controls. Some people hate the use of motion controls in a video game, and if you are one of them, then this game honestly isn’t for you. In Skyward Sword, the objective is to roam around unexplored lands in search of your friend Zelda, and with a new game comes a new combat system. How does this system work? It’s simple, to swing your most used weapon, the sword, all you have to do, is swing the control, like a sword, although this has a surprising amount of depth. This isn’t as simple as waggling the control around, if you waggle the control, you might have some luck, but most enemies can easily counter you waggling the control around. This is a game that requires patience, and timing. This is a game where you need to plan your attacks ahead of time, since the easy enemies can outright destroy you if you are not patient. Also, dungeons are smaller than they were in previous games of the series, but are also much more challenging. Every dungeon, there is at least one puzzle where the answer is right in front of you and will make you scratch your head trying to solve it. The controls also do a tremendous job, and once again, have a great amount of depth. One item called the bug net requires you to capture insects like a net, and you actually have to use your control, like a net. It works really well and if your controller starts to screw about, you can easily press a button to recenter the control. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty darn close. Although, there is one option that is just hit or miss, and that’s a new system called dowsing. In a nutshell, dowsing is used to track certain people, objects, treasures, power-ups, and so on. It’s fairly useful, but, just pretty boring to use, it works like a metal detector somewhat, the sounds gets louder and more frequent as you get closer to an object. Dowsing is not horrible, it’s just boring.
Graphics
Graphics are perhaps one of the least important aspects of a game, good gameplay is the most important, but looking pretty is a bonus. Skyward Sword is a game that not only plays great, it looks great as well. While the Wii (The Game Console this game is on) is easily the weakest graphical console on the market, the game looks beautiful. It looks like a piece of art in motion, the enemies look good, the characters look great, the backgrounds look like a backdrop of a painting, it looks great. Although, there are some textures that look pretty bad when viewed close up, but, since you aren’t looking at rocks the entire game, this is excusable. Not much to say, it’s something you have to see in motion to truly understand.
Music/Sound
Sound is another aspect of the game where it’s not as important, but in a Zelda game, where music has always played a larger role, it carries a bit more importance here. I’m a little disappointed here, sure there are some great tracks in this game, however, many of the best tracks appear two hours in the beginning of the game and aren’t really heard from again. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some great tracks later in the game, just not enough, I wished there was a bit more consistency with music tracks. Some songs are just bland, and it’s hard to say that about a Zelda title. Also, the instrument that they implement is, in my opinion, probably the second worst instrument in the series. The Zelda series is renowned for adding various instruments in the game, from an ocarina, to a conductor’s baton (Not an instrument, but close enough) and a pan flute (Easily the bane of my existence). The harp, which is called The Goddess Harp, otherwise known as, oh my god, how does this thing work? The Harp just feels tacked on, and it’s honestly not really needed. While in other Zelda games, they required the player to memorize songs and arias for certain sections of the game, here, all you do is strum to the tempo. That’s it, no songs, just strumming to the tempo, and the sections they added the harp to can easily be removed, it’s just filler. While the music can be hit or miss at certain times, the great music is absolutely amazing, and is definitely worth listening to.
Final Judgment
I can happily say that this game is easily one of the reasons that I continue to play games. Video games like Skyward Sword to me, are an art form, much like film is. Skyward Sword is a game that honestly shattered my expectations, and I never expected it to be this good. The story while basic, is carried by the characters, they make the simple story work. The gameplay is great, and the control is fluid and responsive, and is easily fixed with a recenter option. The graphics really work well, the game looks phenomenal. Finally, some tracks are absolutely wonderful, and is just ear candy. While I nitpicked some aspects about the game, the pros truly outweighed the cons. This is a game for the ages, and it’s a game that truly deserves to be played.
Writing Sample 2
Slang is a topic that students are very knowledgeable about, since most students use slang on a daily basis. While some barely use it, many students often use slang because it’s definitely easier to just to say a word like swag, instead of using a word like confidence. Not to mention, slang is a lot more humorous. Right now, society is changing; slang is becoming more commonly used between people, and some people do not even realize it. The language is always changing, and that is what makes slang interesting; new words are added constantly. However, slang is sometimes held in contempt by adults, the elderly, and several others just because of how different it is. To a point, they are correct; slang is very different from the language that people use on a daily basis, and while some of the words can sound vulgar or obscene, slang is not evil. One cannot ignore the fact that adults and elderly probably had their own form of slang back in the day. Instead of legs, they had gams, instead of punks, they were called greasers. Instead of gym class heroes, they were called jocks. Slang has been used in the past, no matter how many times some people want to deny it. The fact of the matter is, that slang has survived for centuries, it just changes frequently, and some old slang words can help to create new slang words.
An example of this kind of slang being used is “gym class hero.” The term probably originated from the slang word, jock, a slang word that is still commonly used today that is used to indicate an athlete who is rude and inconsiderate, and also abuses his popularity to get whatever he demands. A gym class hero is somewhat similar to a jock and can also be considered a jock. A gym class hero is defined as a person who usually takes the sport they are playing in gym class way too seriously. He or she tries to beat the other team to make himself look good and brags about how skilled they are. They can also be defined as a person who thinks he is good at a sport, just because they beat all of the unskilled players on the team.
Gym class hero is more a phrase than a slang word; most likely, this word was formed by taking the words, gym class, and adding the word hero at the end to poke fun at the person. Gym class hero also was possibly formed by the word, jock, since they both are fairly similar to each other. Gym class hero is a word that is used by teenagers, used by fourteen to eighteen year old boys; it is possibly only used in the United States, and is said in high school. This word was brought to my attention by a classmate of mine in high school named Michael. He had called a person a gym class hero after he won a volleyball game fifteen to two just by spiking the ball at some girls who did nothing to hit it back at him. The word was also brought to my attention once more when someone said that a band called Gym Class Heroes existed.
A gym class hero is a relatively young term as far as slang words go; it’s also not a word that comes around as much because the word jock is a far more popular slang word that is used. In the community of Bordentown where this word is used, the word gym class hero is brought up to someone trying to appeal or trying to become an athlete or a jock. In some cases, several students will be accepted by the jocks and athletes as one of their own. The other students who try to make the athletes and jocks look like a joke, will be called a gym class hero, although, the word is not used all that often. The Bordentown community more often than not will accept any wannabe athlete or jock, as long as they do not try to call out the community. If the wannabe jock calls out the community and he does not have the skill to back up his claim, he will be called a gym class hero, and will often be ignored.
The word gym class hero is not going to be tossed around by a bunch of adults in a pickup game, simply because it’s not used all that much outside of a high school setting, unless by random chance that they are talking about the band. You are not going to see a group of adults call someone a gym class hero on a basketball court; they are more likely to call someone a cherry picker or saying brick if the basketball does not get in the basket. The same can be said for the elderly, it would be kind of funny seeing an elderly woman call an elderly man a gym class hero while playing shuffleboard, but, it’s really not going to happen. Also, this word only works when it’s used against males. Gym class hero is more of a masculine term and I’ve honestly never heard some being called a gym class heroine. Either it’s male to male, or female to male, it only works if the recipient of the phrase is a male. This means, using the phrase is a fairly tough sell, since not of a lot of people knows what it means and because the person receiving this slang phrase has to be male to be effective.
Now, the question that comes to mind is, why bother using a word that has such limited appeal and can barely be used? The answer is simple, people do not see the word coming and people will look absolutely clueless trying to figure out what the heck a gym class hero truly is. Most students have heard the basic slang words such as jocks, preps, nerds, and so on, but, how often does the word gym class hero come up? Not very, and that is what makes it perfect. It’s an insult that comes up every once in a blue moon, and not too many people know what it is. So while the person scratches their head, confused and thinking what a gym class hero is, you’ll be busy laughing at them from the sidelines.
The word gym class hero is more than just a simple slang word, it’s a clever insult that is barely used, and that is what makes it effective. Not only is it an insult, but, in the Bordentown community, the word is used to scope out the true athletes from the wannabe who care nothing for the community. As for use of this slang word, I do not see how people could not get behind it. It’s not vulgar or obscene, and it’s just fun to call someone that to see that look of confusion on their face. While some adults think that slang is one of the worst creations of the English language, they have to realize that they had slang back in the day as well. It’s just that slang changed some much over time and is constantly changing. However, I do believe this word is definitely worth using, it’s not vulgar, it’s fun to use, and as a word, it’s pretty flexible. So, the next time you see someone thinking they are the greatest player in basketball since Dr. J, just call him a gym class hero and watch the fun.
Writing Sample 3
At the start of this semester, I honestly did not predict the events that would come down the road; I never thought that certain events would change my writing style or how I think about my papers. In the beginning, all I saw was another composition course, and I knew that it meant journals, papers, and the portfolio to be turned in at the end. I had remembered my days in my integrated composition one course, and thought it would be fairly similar. This class certainly felt like an extension to it, however, I believed that during this semester, I truly have learned much more about my writing and about myself as a writer this year. My papers alone showcase the amount of improvement I have made in my writing in this semester.
My first essay was a bit of a rough start for me, like a car with an old motor, it was difficult for me to get my paper going. It was obvious that my draft was not well done, I knew it, and my partner knew it. My sources were improperly cited, my writing was flimsy, and my argument was not well-established. I felt much like my football team, the Philadelphia Eagles, who I saw lose their game before finishing my first draft. I guess it did not help my cause, because much like the Eagles, my work was sloppy, flimsy, and poorly constructed. However, my partner had pointed out that what I had written was not bad, and it just needed some improvements, my writing needed to be crisper, I needed to have better awareness of what I was saying, and I needed to effectively cite my sources. Right before I started my paper, I saw the Eagles again lose, and I said to myself, “They might be playing badly, but a football game is not an acceptable excuse for a bad paper.” With this in mind, I was motivated to write my paper, and to perfect my mistakes in my previous draft, and I also learned how important citing my sources was, since my sources really helped to make my point.
My slang essay was possibly the paper that truly changed the way how I wrote my papers from that point. Like the past draft, I felt completely stuck and clueless on how I would go forward from this point. Also, unlike most people my age, I barely speak slang, it felt like a foreign language to me. The constant struggle of seeing the Eagles lose did not help me either, it just made me angrier, and more cynical about how this paper was going to turn out. Until I saw my friend’s draft, I honestly did not see myself doing well on this paper. As I read his paper, I saw there were several mistakes that his partner did not catch, but, I also found some inspiration behind his paper. My friend had truly spoke his mind about the subject, something that I personally felt was lacking in my paper. He also let me take a look at a couple of text messages that he sent out so I could understand the concept of slang. With my friend’s advice in mind, I literally let my mind doing the speaking in the paper. I felt that, thanks to my friend’s writing, and for showing me his text messages, I was able to get back on track. Taking a note from speaking my mind about the Eagles, I had decided to do the same for this paper, and I think it worked out well.
Finally, my multi-genre project changed how I looked at my information, and where I receive my information. Like my last two drafts, I had difficulty starting the multi-genre project, not because of my writing, just because of how radically different it was. It was my first time I had ever did this type of project, and I was just blown away on how different it was. Much like the Philadelphia Eagles were blown away from New England. It was also different because this was the first project where I used different mediums for information. During most of my papers, I had always used academic search premier and newspapers as reliable sources. However, this project made me take a different look at how I looked at my information. For example, I had barely noticed that one of my sources contained chart data, which helped me create my chart for my project. Another example is that I had used an actual television program to help prove my point about video game addiction. The source in mind was South Park, and it had an episode about video game addiction by itself, and since its purpose and context was clear, I was able to establish how easy it can be to get absorbed into addiction.
Throughout the semester, I had to make sure that each paper had followed the mandatory core values that had been set. I have made sure that these goals have been followed. In my first paper which was about the food industry, I was able to make sure that my sources supported my writing, and to make sure to look at both sides of an argument, and to make sure that there is no such thing as a perfect argument. In my slang paper, I was able to drastically change my paper by reading text messages from my friend, and his paper also helped me to understand what slang is, and changed my views on it. Finally, in my multi-genre project, I understood how useful my sources were, and how I could use them in different ways and genres.
To sum this entire semester, I believe my writing has improved dramatically since the beginning of the course. I have learned the importance of looking at two different sides of an argument, and made sure that my sources always supported my writing. I have learned the importance of reading other drafts to fully learn about the subject, and changed my views on it. Finally, I have learned the importance my sources, and how to use them in my projects from this point forward. While it might be just strange to say the Philadelphia Eagles helped to change my old writing habits, I like to say that their constant failure reminded me of what would happen if I did not change my writing at all. I definitely believe I have improved from when I first started in Comp 2; however, I believe that my teacher and classmates definitely helped me improve my writing, the Eagles just hammered the point down my throat. Thank you, Philadelphia Eagles, you may not make the playoffs, but you helped me become a better writer.