This is a tale that you humans have passed down through generations...
-Fi
It’s
been five years since the last major console Zelda game, Twilight Princess.
Twilight Princess is actually my favorite Zelda game, as it was the first one I
ever owned. I never really got around to finishing/buying Ocarina of Time,
Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, or any of the handheld spin-offs, so, I may not be
truly qualified to review Skyward Sword. All I can give you is an unbiased
review from the perspective of an average gamer who is somewhat educated in the
Legend of Zelda series. By now, you’ve probably read a bunch of reviews
claiming how Skyward Sword is the “true successor” to Ocarina of Time, and how
it evolved off of what Ocarina did, instead of just repeating it. Whether
Skyward Sword is better than Ocarina of Time is completely your own opinion.
But there is no denying that Skyward Sword is a fantastic game, filled with
charm, memorable moments, and other great things. One thing you should know
about this game, if you’ve never played a Zelda game before, is that this is
not some mediocre “family game” for the dimwitted parents who bought a Wii for
their children. This is not some game where you play generic mini games and
stand up, pretending to be fully energetic, and fling your arms wildly with
your family. This game is an experience, it’s an adventure, and it has a
story to tell. Trust me; this is a game where you wanna play by yourself.
The
first thing I noticed about Skyward Sword, is just how beautiful the game is. I
have to give credit to Nintendo for working with the Wii’s graphical limitations.
SS goes for a “watercolour painting” art style, and it achieves it flawlessly.
As you fly towards
Skyloft, you will truly be amazed how it fades in without any frame rate
issues, the same goes for all the scenery in the background. I don't know how
much more I can stress this, but the art style in this game is amazing, I’m not
just talking about the background scenery fading in; I'm talking about the
scenery up close, Nintendo has done a fantastic job of creating the mood of
each environment. As you travel from Skyloft, to Faron Woods, to Laryaun (or
however it’s spelled) Desert, the mood and atmosphere is always changing, and
never fails to fully immerse you into the world. The same goes for all the
dungeons and boss battles. I also have to give credit to the game’s soundtrack.
Each area and boss has a certain soundtrack to it that helps to create the
mood. Oh, and speaking of boss battles, they’re epic, but you already know
that. In true Zelda fashion, the boss battles are always on a huge scale, but
in SS, there are a few twists to this formula. The games main antagonist, the
Demon Lord Ghirahim, is the first boss battle within the game. Unlike other the
bosses, which are usually ten times the size of Link, Ghirahim is around the
same size as Link, and during the entire battle he simply walks around,
displaying a very calm and gentleman-like manner. The battle against Ghirahim
is on a very small scale, but this is a nice little twist to the Zelda
formula.
The other boss battles
are on a much bigger scale, and over all they aren’t impossibly difficult, but
still offer a challenging experience.
I almost forgot to talk about the game’s story, as the
stories in all of the Zelda games are good and keep the player engaged. In the
Legend of Zelda timeline, Skyward Sword comes first, right before Ocarina, so the
beginning of the game takes place in Skyloft, an island in the clouds, and just
like all Zelda games, you play as Link, or a reincarnation of Link, or
something like that. In SS, Link is a student at the Knight Academy along with
Zelda, who shares a very close and deep friendship with him. When Link and Zelda
are flying together on their Loftwings, a tornado comes out of nowhere and
sucks Zelda down to the surface. I don’t want to spoil the story for you, but
just so you know, like all the other Zelda games, the first 15-30 minutes are
usually pretty boring, as you’ll be running around the starting area,
performing tasks for the villagers, learning the basics, etc. I really wasn't
bored with the beginning of Skyward Sword, as the characters you’re interacting
with have a certain charm to them, that make performing their tasks some-what
less boring. Hell, there’s even a “Biff” like character named Groose who envies
Link’s and Zelda’s friendship (Back to the Future kids).
After Zelda’s
disappearance, most of the game is about Link searching for her, and that’s all
I’m really gonna say, but just to let you know, the story in SS is very good,
as you learn about who Link and Zelda are, you will also learn the origins of
the Master Sword and Ganondorf. I also have to talk about the major
improvements Nintendo has made in animating the cut scenes for this game. The
cut scenes in this game are truly amazing in their size/scope and fluid
animation of the characters on screen, when performing actions and displaying
emotions. Seriously, at times I felt as if I was watching the best Legend of
Zelda movie that was never made.
Another important thing you should know about Skyward
Sword, is that it is the first Zelda game built from the ground up for the Wii,
which means that they built this game with motion control in mind. The last
Zelda game that featured motion control was Twilight Princess, and it didn't
fully deliver the level of immersion Nintendo said it would. The flaw in TP’s
motion controls was that the player could simply flick their wrist in any
direction and Link would swing his sword left to right, the controls weren’t
broken or anything like that, it just wasn't as amazing as Nintendo hyped it
up. In Skyward Sword, thanks to the Wii motion plus, when you swing the Wii
remote in a certain direction, Link will also swing his sword in that
direction, you won’t necessarily be standing up and swinging your arms in the
air wildly like in the commercials, but you will have to take into
consideration the direction in which you flick your wrist when facing certain
enemies. This is another thing that Skyward Sword does great, sure, Link will
swing his sword the way you swing the remote, big deal, I’ll still just swing
my Wii remote in any direction I want to slash away at my enemies. WRONG! You
cannot do this, as enemies will react and block your incoming attack, this
forces you to wait for your enemy to expose himself and attack at the right
angle.
This mechanic works great, and
fully utilizes the Wii’s motion controls. This will however take some time to
get used to, if you’re like me, and played a lot of Twilight Princess on the
Wii, and are used to just flicking the Wii remote in any direction. But once
you get used to it, you’ll never want to go back to a regular controller for a while.
The last thing I want to talk about is the inclusion of
RPG elements. The Zelda games have mostly been just “Action-Adventure” games
with very light RPG mechanics, Skyward Sword however, takes it a step further
by adding the ability to upgrade Link’s equipment, such as his shield. I was a
bit worried at first, as I thought that Nintendo put this into the game simply
to pad it out (make it longer) by forcing the player to go and grind/farm for
the materials necessary to upgrade Link’s shield. But that is not the case, as
this ability to upgrade Links shield and other equipment is completely
optional, in fact, you could actually try and beat the game without a shield! (This
of course would be incredibly difficult). If you do choose to try and upgrade
Link’s equipment, you will benefit from this, as the upgrades actually are
significant, and will make the game significantly easier for you. Some of the
benefits include making your shield stronger, so it can take more damage before
breaking, or increasing the damage and zoom in of your bow.
Just like all the other Zelda games, it’s not so much
about that conclusion of the story that makes the game memorable, but the
journey to the conclusion that makes the game memorable. Skyward Sword is a
fantastic journey from start to finish, the story is great, the characters are
charming and memorable (despite there being no voice acting!), and the game is
an absolute blast to play. It will most likely last you about 30-40 hours,
depending on whether or not you do all the side missions, or explore all of the
areas thoroughly. At the end of my play through of Skyward Sword, I had almost
no complaints. I couldn't think of a single thing the game did wrong. One minor
complaint I do have is that three of the boss battles in the game are a bit
repetitive and frustrating, but this pales in comparison to what the game
achieves successfully, which is why I give Skyward Sword:
10/10 - Truly an
amazing game to experience
You buy now, yes?
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