Review: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)

Does the newest Zelda game take the series into the future?

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: November 20th, 2011
Score: 4.8 / 5

The release of a new console-based Legend of Zelda game is an increasingly less common occurrence, in a world where gamers receive a new Call of Duty game every single year. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has been in development for the past five years, and gamers have been dying to get their hands on it, and try out the new MotionPlus sword controls. While I anticipated the control overhaul, I also discovered a number of more modern elements implemented into the game, indicating that the Zelda series is starting to undergo a significant evolution.

According to the producers, this game is the first in the entire Zelda series, chronologically. Link and Zelda are resident of Skyloft, a small village in the sky that is separated from the dangerous land below the clouds. One day, Zelda is knocked off of her Loftwing bird down to the surface, and Link’s quest to rescue her turns into an epic adventure to defeat an ancient evil. Compared to the previous Zelda games, the story seems a little bit sparse; Twilight Princess brought in a larger cast of characters that you cared about, and had more interesting story events between each dungeon. With that said, the characters in Skyward Sword are fleshed out well for the most part, and one Skyloft resident in particular seems to have become a fan favorite, a sentiment I definitely share. I think that the story would greatly benefit from having a greater focus than just the main quest, though.

The game’s main selling point, of course, is the new MotionPlus control scheme, which lets players take precise control of their sword and other items. As cliché as it sounds, after playing through Skyward Sword, I’ve had a difficult time going back to traditional Zelda controls. The controls feel very natural, and knowing that the direction of my sword swipes actually makes a difference has caused me to think of battles in a totally new way, and it just sucked me into the Zelda world even more. Battles with the game’s main antagonist, Ghirahim, made excellent use of the controls, and I’d love to see more battles like that in the future.

Other items use the MotionPlus excellently as well, mostly to aim with precision. One of the greatest benefits of the enhanced controls, I found, is the ability to aim precisely without having to actually point the controller at the TV screen; it seems like a minor benefit, but if you try playing this game without being directly in front of the TV, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s the little touches like that which make Skyward Sword a particular joy to play; the details of MotionPlus have clearly not been overlooked. The controls did glitch out on me once, in a frustrating manner, but the immersion the new control scheme adds easily outweighs any potential errors that may be introduced.

The overall flow of the adventure feels very different from before, and not just due to the MotionPlus controls. Instead of a large overworld with many different areas to explore, there are only three major areas: a forest, a volcano, and a desert. Each of these areas is larger than a standard Zelda area, but they’re all structured as giant puzzles as well, similar to a standard dungeon. You won’t just cruise through a village, talk to folks and unlock the dungeon door as in some previous games; navigating the overworld takes work and critical thinking, and the change is completely welcome. It extends the gameplay greatly, but it doesn’t feel like filler at all. Puzzles overall feel very clever in this game, and even when I was stuck I rarely felt like it was the game’s fault.

You’ll end up exploring each of these areas three times during the course of the game, and each time there are new places to explore, or old places that are given a new and interesting twist. Despite the re-use of these locations, I rarely felt like the game was trying to recycle old gameplay; I was constantly being engaged, and often being impressed. The desert in particular was well made, as it uses a time-shifting mechanic that transports small, concentrated areas back in time to a previous age, and the puzzles based around this were very clever. That section of the game stands out particularly well for me.

One major element that has been newly added to the series is the Dowsing ability. This allows you to search for specific items or locations by pointing your sword in various directions; the sword will show you the correct direction, and give you a rough estimate of how far away the item is. Initially, I worried that this ability would take out the challenge and exploration, but that turned out to not be the case. The world is designed well enough that knowing the general direction of the item you’re looking for doesn’t mean you skip out on anything; you’ll still need to navigate the terrain and puzzle your way through places in order to get to your destination. What ends up being removed is a lot of aimless exploration and being completely lost, a very welcome prospect.

The game’s seven dungeons hold up just about as well as the overworld does. They’re filled with puzzles and enemies as they usually are, and the puzzle quality is as good as it ever was; as stated previously, certain Zelda staples such as “light all the torches to open the door” have been removed, and replaced with puzzles that make better use of the game’s items. There are almost no items that get used in one dungeon and then are never seen again, as is common in previous titles; the common item re-use means that there are several more ways to strain your brain in a given situation.

The game’s bosses, however, are by and large a letdown; they aren’t much worse than standard series bosses, but the amazing swordfight with the first boss made me realize how much room the series has to improve. Having the bosses start off so strong, and then go downhill extremely fast, was a major disappointment, and it’s the one part of the game where the series really shows its age. Nintendo would do well to take a look at other action/adventure titles to try and evolve their boss design.

When he’s not solving the puzzles of the overworld, Link flies through the sky on his Loftwing, exploring a wide space filled with a number of small floating islands; most of them only contain a random treasure chest, which can’t be opened until you’ve found the corresponding Goddess Cube on land. There are some special areas in the sky where you can find more quests or play games, however, and then there’s always the town of Skyloft.

Skyloft is where you’ll be spending your time when you’re not adventuring, and it has a fair amount of things for you to do. There are a number of small sidequests that you can participate in, solving people’s troubles in exchange for Gratitude Crystals, which are items you collect that act as vital elements of a larger quest. Interestingly enough, you do get a bit of a choice in how some of these quests end, and in at least one occasion, the results can be downright hilarious.

The main feature of Skyloft, though, is the Bazaar, where you will discover how the item system has been reworked and improved for Skyward Sword. You’ll be able to purchase items like potions, shields, extra quivers, larger wallets and more, which will then go into your Adventure Pouch. This pouch can hold between four and eight items, depending on how many additions you’ve purchased, and what you decide to put in it will help dictate your play style. Stocking up on extra quivers will let you fire lots of arrows, while getting a shield or two will help you with basic defense. You can even go shieldless if you like, though I don’t recommend this in the least; you can accidentally end up shieldless, though, if you let it take too much damage and it shatters.

On top of buying items, you can also upgrade your current equipment to improve its strength, capacity, and more. Throughout your overworld travels, you’ll come across numerous small treasures hidden in grass, held by enemies, buried in the ground and more; you’ll also stumble across numerous bugs, which you can capture by carefully swinging your Bug Net. You can later use these items to upgrade potions to make them more powerful, enhance shields to make them more durable, or upgrade weapons to make them more powerful or give them other effects. Whether you decide to do this is up to you, but I know that the opportunity to get a more powerful bow led me to happily search for treasures on more than one occasion. It’s a good way to get players to explore the environment a bit more, as the rewards are much more tangible and easily observed.

The graphical style is halfway between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, and while some bemoan the loss of a more realistic style, I personally will take a more colorful world over enhanced realism any day. The world below the clouds is very bright and eye-catching, and the wide range of colors used makes it easier to locate treasures and such. The graphics engine renders the world impressively as well, making it look in some ways like a watercolor painting, and I think it’s an excellent fit for the Legend of Zelda series, which puts a strong focus on exploration and discovery. The music also fits the game well, though the only tune that was particularly memorable for me was the pleasant Skyloft theme. Sound effects are well chosen also, and the musical accompaniment to battles is fairly engaging.

The game seems like it would be short on paper, with a relatively small number of dungeons and only three major overworld areas to explore. When I had beaten the final boss, however, I had clocked in an amazing 50 hours with the title, which is nearly one and a half times as long as I took playing Twilight Princess the first time. I also didn’t partake in many Gratitude Crystal quests, nor did I waste much time on Fun Fun Island; 50 hours is my time for a mostly straight playthrough of the game, without many interruptions. There was almost no time-consuming filler, either; this game definitely is not lacking in content.

It’s hard for me to say whether this is the best Zelda game I’ve ever played, as nostalgia leaves a powerful impact on my memories. I can say, however, that this newest game has some of the best gameplay of any title in recent memory. This game takes the excellent design the series is known for, replaces outdated elements with more modern systems, and tops it off with an excellent motion control scheme that adds a new level of immersion to the series. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword shows just how far the series has come, while offering glimpses of a bright, modern future.