Picking an overrated game from the world of The Legend Of Zelda is risky business. We're talking about a franchise with almost 30 years of goodwill backing it up, and critical acclaim across its lifetime that is saved for only the most revered game series'. Looking at the average ratings for Zelda games over the years, there has been hardly a step out of place since we met Link for the first time. But, as with any consistently celebrated franchise, there will be those who feel compelled to stand up and take a negative stance against it. Some of these cynical voices come from the usual suspects - forum trolls who will take an uneducated swing at anything with a passionate fan base. But there have been releases in Zelda canon which have received opposing sentiment from more openminded elements of the gaming public too. Gamers who have spent years in Link's boots, but take legitimate objection to something from Miyamoto's revered franchise. Ocarina Of Time tends to be the go-to game for spiteful Zelda-bashers, but that's just bitterness - Ocarina is one of the top rated titles of all time for good reason. A more considered attack was launched against the more recent Wii MotionPlus swing-fest, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Another cracking Zelda adventure, Skyward Sword racked up perfect scores like a Soviet gymnast, but it wasn't immune to criticism. For a game generally bathed in love and adoration, some long-time fans took Skyward Sword to task for its inconsistent motion controls, lack of innovation and a painful reliance on fetch quests and backtracking. Criticisms were also levelled at the slow-moving narrative, incessant hand-holding and a terribly annoying in-game helper in the guise of your spirit guide Fi. More than anything, those who felt the game was overrated complained that Nintendo had become lazy with Skyward Sword, hoping that the newfangled motion control system would be enough to hide the shortcomings of a game which hadn't advanced much in the past decade or so. And they got away with it, for the most part.
Game-obsessed since the moment I could twiddle both thumbs independently. Equally enthralled by all the genres of music that your parents warned you about.
