Personally, it still is my favorite Zelda game.

I'm not pretending it's the best Zelda, for that is always up to preferences, but it's the only Zelda game I've replayed so much.

Basically, whenever I play a video game, I try my best to accept the rules of the world established in said video game. In Last of Us, I play not thinking "how come Joel can see using hearing" but rather "how can I effectively use this ability". With that in mind, I feel involved in the games I play.

That's basically why I love the game so much. I felt extremely involved in the story SS gave. I lived the adventure. I wanted to save Zelda, because I wanted Link to be happy. I even felt sad when Fi said farewell to Link. At first I found her annoying like everyone, but along with every other companions in Zelda games, I grew attached to her. I realized that when she dropped the probability talk for a moment to genuinely wish good luck to Link. This was one of the rare times I was so involved in a narrative, even though I have a bad habit of ignoring stories in Nintendo games. And as long as I find enjoyment in what a play, then it's all good to me.

Concerning the controls, whatever. I didn't find any glaring problems with them, except maybe the stab being finicky. I actually liked shield bashing enemies, it felt great, especially the sound it makes when successful, like a little reward.

I'm covering the game with praise, but bear in mind that it is coming from my personal experience. I'm not saying the game is perfect is for everyone.

In the end, I really liked Skyward, more than Oot or ALttP because of how I experienced it. But at the same time, I still have fond memories of the franchise as a whole.