The bad:
The big downside was the story and acting. The characters were one dimensional and I had no emotional connection to most of the main characters. The acting was passable but the game would have been better without voiced dialog. Zelda in particular was very one dimensional and I didn't feel anything for her. The only voiced characters I like were Urbosa and the king. Ganon becoming more of a force of nature than a character was a cool idea but took away his presence as a villain. Having the story take place 100 years after the preamble meant the calamity was not personal and unimposing as most characters were born after the dust settled. I had no connection to the horses, unlike Epona in other LoZs. There was no character development whatsoever. They toyed a little with possible romance between Link and Zelda or Mipha but that was one sided and went nowhere. Ocarina of Time had more interesting and emotionally invested characters.
The non-linear nature of the game was great in some ways but made it feel like everything was insignificant. Master Sword: optional and situational (but great for guardians and Ganon's castle), freeing the diving beasts had cool gameplay perks but in the end all they do is take Ganon's first form HP down by half :/. None of the towns felt threatened as there was no ticking clock. The kingdom was already sacked 100 years ago.
The final boss was laughably easy, although I was very powerful when fighting him/it. All the combat was based on simple game mechanics, dodge and counter, block to deflect beams back, face shots and ride updrafts for slowed time shots.
Also minor but prevalent gameplay flaws like dropping frame rate, sometimes unresponsive buttons and poor lock-on range/AI were an annoyance. I feel like not having a crafting system for equipment was a wasted opportunity. A clawshot would have been great too.
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The upsides greatly outweigh the downsides. The world was HUGE and beautiful; I'm saying this as someone who wasn't a fan of the watercolor/Skyward sword style. It looked good with the grass blowing, huge vistas, changing night/day and weather cycles. There is so much to explore, find and do. The game kept surprising me with things like the Lord of the Mountains, shooting stars, dragons, etc. That's what the game was all about; discovery. It was hard to put down.
I loved the passive effects, preparation, material collecting and interacting with the environment. The towers were a great way to discover the land.
If you factor in the shear volume and scope of the game it gets a 10 out of 10. If you weigh the story and gameplay equally it gets a 9 out of 10.
PS
I got PTSD from enhancing my clothes
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