Zelda Skyward Sword Review.
Zelda fans waited 5 years for the next addition in there beloved franchise on console that is. It was a long dark road I should know being a massive Zelda fan myself. Finally in November 2011 the wait was over and Skyward Sword was released (designed specifically with the Wii in mind) causing mass excitement amongst fans and somewhat considerable amount of pressure due of the long wait between games. In many peoples eyes Nintendo were taking a risk with Skyward Sword as they attempted to address the much debated issue amongst fans, the time line. Just when and how does each of the Zelda games fit in with each other? And would Skyward Sword satisfy its very patient fan base?
Skyward Sword is everything that made the franchise so successful, it's a game full of adventure, discovery, charm and plenty of character. The game is highly creative throwing foes and puzzles the likes you have never seen before at you whilst giving you an engaging story to follow. This game is set as the earliest in the series and follows the protagonist Link who lives in a society high in the sky called Skyloft. After his closest childhood friend Zelda is swept down into the land beneath the clouds by the self proclaim "demon lord" Ghirahim, Link sets out travelling through wondrous and often dangerous lands willing to do what ever it takes in order to rescue Zelda.
But before all that you need a sword, this is when you meet Fi a spirit that lives inside the "Goddess" sword. Fi becomes your guide throughout the game; she is a very unique and interesting character that does not understand emotions and is built to be an almost humanoid figure with her strange voice and often computing your chances of success. Maybe her most impressive feature is that she is incredibly annoying telling you the blindingly obvious every 10 minutes (Amazingly she gives Navi's "HEY LISTEN!!!" and run for its money) but at the same time you will find yourself, strangely, growing oddly fond of her. Characters in the game do not have there own voice's so text and odd sounds that resemble speech are used instead. For most characters this is a really let down, if I am going to fight a "demon lord" I would like to hear what he has to say rather that scrolling through endless paragraphs of writing. However there is a silver lining in one of my favorite characters for a long time "Groose". He is a tall red haired boy designed purely for comic reasons; he is obsessed with Zelda and is very Jealous of Link's and her relationship. He is given his own "bumbling" music to accompany his text whilst talking and really helps lighten the mood throughout the game, but more than that he plays a pretty vital part in the adventure but I will leave that for you to find out.
The game sticks with the classic Zelda formula; you must go to a temple, gain a new item in the temple, defeat a boss at the end of the temple, collect a heart piece and accomplish what ever it was that you went in there to do. One significant change from other games is that the temples are much smaller and you are made to do more work just to gain entry to temples. Be it finding a key to open the temple or just finding the temple itself, this adds a less straight forward challenge for the player and also gives a reason to explore the surrounding areas. Temples in the past have been challenging, enjoyable, frustrating and puzzling sometimes all at the same time. It is more of the same with Skyward Sword, the level design is brilliant. It is also worth mentioning that the Bosses throughout the game some of the best I have seen on a Zelda game. The introduction of motion plus has allowed for new movements such as rolling bombs rather than throwing them and sometimes using your sword alone to solve puzzles, this and some great new additions to your equipment such as the Beetle and the whip will keep the temples interesting and fun. Motion Plus allows you to swing your sword in the direction that you intend this is key when defeating enemies as they will block and you must strike from the correct direction. In theory this sounds like a great idea being able to feel like you are actually wielding a sword however you soon learn that most enemies can be defeat by shaking you sword randomly. The most noticeable and basic bit of game play added is the energy bar, this allows Link to sprint and to climb faster, I found myself very grateful for it. Zelda fans will know that on previous games if you wanted to move faster you had to keep tapping A to roll, thankfully that is not the case anymore.
Skyloft has many different islands and I was eager to go explore them, to get around Skyloft you fly on the back of your giant red bird known as a Loftwing. As you fly from island to island (using the new Motion Plus controls) you will soon notice that there is not much out there, most islands have been created to hold the chests that you activate on the surface. In fact there are only two that you can do things on, this really let's the game down we have been given a fast area to explore in Skyloft but it is empty. The land beneath the clouds also does not offer the open world we are used to experiencing from Zelda games. It feels cramped and shut off, like you are being pushed down one path till you reach where the game wants you to go. This is highlighted by the fact that you return to the same places more than once to do another menial task and end up fighting a boss in the sealed grounds multiple occasions. On a more personal note one thing that really let me down was that Nintendo did not add fishing to the game. I know this sounds like a ridiculous thing to be upset about but it brings me back to my point that the game feels empty. In the past the games have been filled with silly time wasting mini games that allowed you to slow down your play through and bring the world to life, Skyward sword has nothing like this. Considering Nintendo did a great deal of work making a Zelda game for Motion Plus, and then did not think to add fishing which would suit the controls down to the ground baffles me.
There have been many criticisms aimed at Nintendo because the Wii can not support HD game play. The Skyward Sword art team have done a great job getting around this; everything within the world and the characters look sharp and detailed. Having said that if you look at the walls that contain the world they do look like they have come straight from the N64, for me personally the game looks good enough without HD so it does not cause too much of a problem. However no one can deny that having a Zelda game in HD would look 200% better, the proof id right here… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9uYCU8jFiU
On another note (excuse the pun) the music in Skyward Sword is excellent. Of course many people will make up their own minds as music is all about personal preference but for me they hit the nail on the head. The music when Groose speaks is funny, the music when you see Zelda in cut scenes is emotional and epic, and there are plenty of songs that keep you bobbing you head throughout the game.
Overall I would recommend playing Zelda Skyward Sword as it has a lot to offer in the way of creativity and game play. Hard core Zelda fans will not be disappointed, the storyline is exactly what they wanted it answers many unanswered questions and seeing the bond between Zelda and Link throughout the game mixed with the nostalgic feeling Skyward Sword creates will definitely please the fans. However I do worry that this particular game will struggle to bring in new fans of the series, a lot of the game is built around nostalgia making it hard for someone who has never played a Zelda game to get engrossed in it. Most gamers today expect their games to be in HD and for characters within the game to have there own voices, it's the little things like this that are nostalgic for fans of the series and disappointing for new gamers.
Zelda Skyward Sword is a game built for its fans, the things that fans see as nostalgic in the game others would see as disappointing. It is shame that such a creative team of game designers is let down by the limited power of the Wii. Against other Wii games I would give it an 8-10 but against everything else out there it would have to be 7-10.