Console: Wii
Players: Single
Release Date: 18th November 2011
Developers: Nintendo EAD
Publishers: Nintendo
Genre: Action Adventure, Fantasy
Price: €44.99* (Limited Edition ~€60)
It’s the 25th anniversary; can Link capture our hearts once again?
The broad strokes of almost all Zelda games are once again present, a guy in green, a girl named Zelda and a rising darkness separates the two but something that makes Skyward Sword stand out from the rest are the details. Now the setting is Skyloft an island floating in the Sky. I won’t go into the story much more but suffices to say this maybe is the most important Zelda story ever told. If you subscribe to the unified Zelda Timeline, you need to play this game now, before it is spoiled for you.
Skyward Sword is presented in a much more cinematic and dramatic way than any previous game in the series; With great looking cut scenes filled with colourful and interesting characters. All of the main characters have an arc and grow over the course of the game. We actually get to spend a few hours getting to know Zelda before we are inevitably separated. She isn’t the meek little damsel she is often cast to be; this Zelda is a strong character with some really great moments. Fi, (your companion for the journey) plays the role of Navi. She states the obvious and generally tells you where you need to go, but even she gets a few good character moments.
First of all Wii Motion plus is required, if you don’t have this you cannot play this game. Unlike a lot of other motion control games, shaking and wiggling won’t get you anywhere. The sword play in Skyward Sword is unique and precise. The Sword has some real weight to it, and combat takes some skill and practise to learn. Enemies will present different openings as they attack and it’s up to you to capitalise on this with a well aimed sword strike. This system is a revolutionary approach to motion control, like Z-targeting was in Ocarina. It’s a shame this comes at the end of the Wii’s life. I would love to see where this approach could progress to, and would even argue that if this appeared a few years ago it might have changed how people look at the console.
Level design is a testament to the creative team, on such a limited console they accomplish so much, and makes you wonder what could be achieved if they were given access to more powerful hardware. The puzzles in this game are some of the most enjoyable and creative that I have encountered, the best being the time manipulation system and the final dungeon. They really push beyond the limits we are accustomed too in previous Zelda games. The world is smaller but is used much more creatively than having each dungeon essentially be designed around the new item you discover there.
Another new feature is the potion crafting and item upgrade system, Now you can augment and enhance weapons and items to make them more powerful. It is a little simplistic but I would love to see this refined and become a standard part of Zelda games in future.
This game looks like you took Twilight Princess, dropped in Wind Waker’s cheer and colour then rendered it all through the eyes of Vincent Van Gogh. The impressionist art style more than makes up for the Wii’s lack of power, so much so that you forget it’s not in HD. In a time where graphics are measured in processing power, this is a testament to the craft and ability of the creators out there who can make things look beautiful without having to cite how many gigahertz are being thrown at you.
The music and sound is what you would expect from the series, with great music and the occasional grunt, laugh or scream from the characters. Like many Zelda games a lot of the quests are based around learned new songs to progress, Skyward Sword is filled with the familiar songs and musical cues that we have come to love, but over all nothing too new of exciting.
The limited edition comes with a gold Wii Remote Plus and a CD with some Orchestral Zelda Music. The CD contains eight tracks, so about forty five minutes of music. It’s a fine Zelda music CD but it’s not great. The controller should be the only reason you buy this edition, It’s a standard Wii controller in Gold (Contains no actual Gold, sorry) and has the Skyward Sword emblem. If you don’t already have a Wii Remote Plus then get this version.
I finished the game in just over 40 hours, your average person would probably do it in 32-35, there is a lot here to keep you busy. This is an amazing game, a worthy legacy to the name. From new fans to Zelda purists, they will enjoy this game. In fact in thirteen years I think the current generation will feel about Skyward Sword the way we feel about Ocarina today.
Good
It’s a Zelda Game
Bad
Camera can be a little uncooperative at time.
No Cuccos.
Rating
98/100
(Dammit man KISS HER!)
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