The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Where does one begin with a game such a this? Skyward Sword is so many things at once. It's the 25 anniversary of the Legend of Zelda franchise, it's the first true proper execution of the Wii Motion Plus technology, and it is also the Wii's swan song. In the process of trying to be so many things at once, one has to wonder if it's lost something along the way. Let's take a look and find out...
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was in development for 6 years, making it one of the longest development times for any Nintendo game ever. Many people purchased a Wii simply due to the promise that a new console Zelda was on the way. I was one of these people.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is more revolutionary than Zelda has been in years, and for many reasons. The biggest, and most notable change taking place in Skyward Sword is its control scheme. It utilizes Wii MotionPlus technology, meaning that the game tracks your movements with the Wii remote in 1:1 precision and replicates them on screen.
For the most part I find this works really well. During my time spent with Skyward Sword Link flawlessly tracked my movements right down to the very angle of my wrist. This precise 1:1 control is so much more engaging than the simple button mash of yesteryear. I find myself wondering how we ever truly enjoyed a Zelda game before it and find it even harder to imagine going back to the old style of control.
The game touts itself as being waggle proof. As great as the sword play is, I have to say the claim isn't entirely true. The enemy AI is probably the smartest yet for any Zelda game. Enemies block and counter almost all of your attacks. Running head first into an enemy like that and waggling your arm off will send you packing. Each baddie is essentially a mini puzzle. You have to observe them, discover their, and then wait for an opening. To do otherwise will drain your hearts faster than you can react.
Once you do figure out the enemy's pattern and get that first hit in, however, they're momentarily stunned, when them gives you the precious time needed to get hit in again and again. Since they can't block when they're stunned, you can pretty much waggle your way through them once you get that first hit in and their guard is down.
Aside from having near perfect precision when it comes to swordplay, Link is also much more agile than before. Another series first, Link can now run. Gone are the days of walking backwards to try to speed up your journey speed. Link now has a stamina bar, which adds a layer of depth to Link's movement, and with it he can dash all over the place. Not only that, but when dashing Link can also run a few steps up a wall or ledge, giving you a slight boost. Saving precious seconds here and there like that really helps to keep the pacing of the game up.
Another added layer of stragedy in the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the game's emplementation of upgradeable items. That's right, the wallet, quiver, and bomb bags aren't the only thing you'll be expanding this time around. Now you can upgrade your entire bow, bug net, or one of the game's newest additions, the beetle to improvement both it's power and precision.
One of the final changes to how the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword plays compared to other Zelda games is simply the pacing and world design. Compared to other games in the Zelda franchise, Skyward Sword's world is slightly smaller, however, it is packed with more content. Nintendo used the term "dense" to describe the areas in Skyward Sword, and that's exactly what they are.
So much content comes at a price, however. With so many things to do in only a few select areas means that there's quite a lot of back tracking involved. Also, at times certain quests feel like they're filler quests and simply there for the sake increasing the game's content without any real purpose behing them. I know for some this can be a fault, but others will welcome the content just the same. After all, who wants a Zelda game to end?
In the graphics department The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is gorgeous. Sure the geometry in game is what you'd expect from a Wii game, and while the artistic style is more subtle than Wind Waker the water color finish most finish holds its own. From far away objects really appear to be nothing more than a mosaic painting. One of the most amazing parts about it is simply walking around while keeping an eye on the background.
As far as audio goes, what The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is top notch. The soundtrack is fully Orchestrated with mostly all new material. Not only that, but at specific points throughout the game you'll find little easter egg bits of sound that reminds you the nostalgia runs deep, whether it be the famous item get noise, or a new song that is actually an old favorite played in reverse. Keeping with the Zelda tradition there is of course no voice acting, and we wouldn't want it any other way.
We can't talk about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword without mentioning its story. Skyward Sword is probably the most story driven Zelda game to date, focusing heavily on the origins of the Master Sword, which means it's the earliest game in the series chronologically. While Skyward Sword does introduce new plot holes and more questions in the process, it does a fine job answering some questions that fans have been asking themselves since the series' conception on the NES.
The characters are deeper than in previous Zelda games, and they exhibit much more emotion throughout the course of the adventure. This is the most believable Zelda game to date, and at times you'll feel moved by its inhabitants. I really fell in love with most of the cast and Zelda especially. Whereas in some previous Zelda games I didn't have much care for Zelda or the story, this was the first time a Zelda game had me actually legitimately wanting to save her.
There are many great things to say about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, but there are some faults as well. One thing I have to mention is the text speed in the game. I'm a fairly fast reader, and the text speed just couldn't keep up with me. Using the A button wasn't much help either. I know this probably seems like a trivial complaint, and it is a minor one for sure, but the slow text was a distraction from the overall experience.
Another thing I've been hearing a lot from across the internet is that people have been having issues with the controls. I know I said above that the controls worked flawlessly for me, and they did, but other people claim that they had to constantly recenter the Wii Remote. I'll admit that I did have to recenter mine on occasion during my 40+ hours with the game, but I don't find that to necessarily be a fault as long as it doesn't have to be recentered to an extreme.
The designers implemented the feature for a reason, and that's beause on occasion it is sometimes necessary to recenter the cursor for whatever reason, whether it be outside interference or not. The recenter button is Down on the D-Pad, and it really couldn't be in a more convenient spot. Sure, the calibration of motion controls in general isn't as reliable as analog, but it's hardly a nuisance, and the added depth that comes along with motion controls makes it all worth while.
In short, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a great game, and easily one of the Wii's best. I feel that while some of the changes were for the best, a few other things weren't actually changed enough. Outside of the controls, I don't feel Skyward Sword revolutionizes the Zelda experience all that much. With that said, the Zelda experience is a tried and true formula, and one that has a special place in the hearts of many gamers around the world. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword does well to remind us of that, and to me, felt like catching up with an old friend.
The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword gets an 8.5 out of 10
Fanboy Disclaimer: Here at NintendoKnow we use the 1-10 scale, not the 7-10 scale. That means that an 8.5 is a great score ;-)
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