The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Warning: Spoilers
If there’s one thing Nintendo are good at, it’s sending people on a quest to rescue princesses, as they’ve done it so many times through the Mario and Zelda games. The Zelda games have seen a quarter of a century of Link and his quest to defeat evil and to rescue the princess, and yet the story never gets old. Skyward Sword may have a similar story but it is certainly the most refined telling of it yet. The game throws you head first in an epic quest, full of magic, adventure and excitement before you’ve even had time to sharpen your blade and stock up on potions from the local bazaar. Once you start your quest you are soon thrown into the vast world beneath your home and you set off, exploring, fighting, and solving your way through a land filled with more adventure, secrets and surprises than you can shake a stick at with a beautiful, sweeping storyline to Cary the game from the edge of the sky to the depths of hell. Fans were expecting much from Skyward Sword, but when the game came out, it did all they were expecting and more. With an engaging story, memorable characters, beautiful and diverse locations, and incredible gameplay, this game can proudly call itself a part of the Legend of Zelda, if not it’s finest hour. 
The story sees the familiar green clothed guy living up on Skyloft, a floating island far above the surface world. He and Zelda live happily up there until she is cast down to the land below by a tornado and Link sets off, sacred sword in hand to rescue her. Thus your quest begins and you begin to explore the land below. The areas in skyward sword are very well designed; they’re bright, colourful, and full of things to discover and to do besides the main plot. However there are only three main areas on the surface, Faron woods, Eldin volcano and Lanayru Desert with Skyloft acting as a hub between the areas were you can rest and resupply. This is different to other Zelda games as you cannot move between areas without going back to the sky, but it does not overly detract form the game. Each area is substantially different from the other each with its own feel, layout, structure and composition to make each area fun and enjoyable in its own way. Faron woods is the first area you visit when you first go down to the surface. The area is bright, green and full of stuff to discover and to explore like the great tree and the sealed temple; there is also a large lake with a watery liar for the water dragon. The area is beautiful and perfectly designed to feel warm and vibrant and is one of the most enjoyable areas of the game. Eldin Volcano could not be more different from the lush green forests of Faron woods. The rivers and lakes of lava make traversing the area difficult, but enjoyable none the less. The mountain presents new obstacles as you try and climb up the slopes while being attacked from all directions. Lanayru desert presents a new challenge again as it introduces “time-shift stones” which transform anything within a certain radius into what it looked like many years ago when Lanayru was not a harsh desert but was lush and green, this allows for many interesting puzzles as you turn stones on and off to allow you to proceed either in the deserts of the present or the fields of the past.
The sky is your home and the way point between all the areas within Hyrule. The Sky and Skyloft also have a fiar few things to do. In the centre of Skyloft is a large purple tent otherwise known as the bazaar. Inside the bazaar the room is packed with shops and people to talk to, there is an item shop where you can buy bombs, arrows and seeds for your sling shot; an potion shop where you can buy lots of different potions; the item check where you can swap items in your pouch with other items stored there, the gear guy where you can repair your shield and upgrade your items, and a fortune teller who will give you hints at where to find stuff. The bazaar is a great place with to buy things and to talk with the local residents, the shop keepers themselves are also more interactive with their own personality and behaviour rather than the “wooden” shop keepers of past games who would stand behind the counter and simply ask you to “buy something”. The sky also has lots of little island doted around the area which you can get to by flying around on your loftwing, the giant birds which in habit the sky. The islands can have little secrets and stuff to discover as well as mini games, but other than that the sky is quite empty and seems deviod of any real purpose other than a place to move between the areas on the map. Flying around on your loftwing is one of the most fun thing to do in the sky and getting around is so easy with your bird that you wonder why people use the ground to travel at all. The people in Skyloft will also occasionally send you on side-quest to find thing or deliver things which you can complete for a little reward.
The controls in Skyward Sword are the best of any Zelda game. The game uses Wii motion plus technology and the best use of motion controls to allow you to have full control over link and his weapons and items. Slash the Wii remote diagonally and Link will do the same, slashing in the same direction that you did, pull back the nunchuck to draw an arrow, stab forward and twist your wrist to turn a switch, the uses are endless. The controls are nearly 1:1 perfect and although get a little getting used to are absolutely flawless when you get the hang of them. The ease and precision of the controls allows enemies to behave differently than in other games and make you think about how to kill them, rather than randomly slashing them down. Deku babas, the piranha plants of the Zelda games, for instance will open their mouths either horizontally or vertically. In order to kill the Deku babas you have to slice your sword in the direction that their mouth is open thus cutting them in half, chose the wrong angle and your sword will bounce off. Another example is the bokogoblins, the standard grunts of skyward sword, even they will defend with their sword and cause you to try and slice your sword at the right angle and right direction to kill them. These are not the only ones, every enemy in Skyward Sword, save a few, will try and block your attacks, and will make you stop and think about the enemy, where their weak spot will be, how to expose their weak spot, how get under their defences, and how to defeat them effectively.
Another new edition to the series is the ability to run. While romping around the world you can hold the A button and make Link run, while doing this a green stamina bar will appear which will slowly decrease, stop running and the stamina bar will fill back up to the top again but run over your stamina limit and you will not be able to do anything for a few seconds while Link catches his breath. The stamina bar makes it easier to go faster rather than doing continuous rolls as you would have to in other games. Another a new edition is the fact that you can leap while climbing on stuff. When you are climbing on a ladder or vines you can flick the Wii remote and leap either sideways or upwards, this makes climbing faster and a less tedious affair. The bosses in skyward sword are not the best in the series but are certainly fun and inventive. There is a boss at the end of each temple as well as three imprisoned battles. The imprisoned battles are fun but can get a bit repetitive
by the third encounter. The Temple boss fights are full of the same charm and fun you can find in the rest of the game apart from the fact that the demon lord Ghirahim is used twice as a boss making the second encounter fill dull and repetitive. Bosses aside the temples and dungeons in Skyward Sword are some of the best ever. Each dungeon has its own unique feel and design and are all really fun.There is a temple where you switch between the past and the future by using a time-switch stone and has many puzzles based around this; there is a temple with rivers of lava and plants that can drop huge droplets of water causing the lava to freeze; and there’s my favourite one, a temple where you shift rooms around and reconnect them to allow you to progress. The temples never feel dull or repetitive; each temple has its own puzzles, enemies and mechanics so that every temple and every puzzle feels fresh and full of imagination.
Although there are only seven temples in the game a large portion of the story is doing trials and quests. Firstly there are the silent realm trials. These trails are found in each of the provinces and when Link trusts his sword into the centre of trial gate his spirit travels into a ghostly silent realm version of the world he just. In these trials you have to collect 15 tears of light while dodging the guards of the silent realm, each tear makes them remain stationary for 90 seconds but go over that time, step in waking water or get caught in one of the spotlights and they will wake up and come for you. The silent realms are surprisingly scaring and the animations of the ghostly spirit guards waking up will send shivers down your spine. The trials also add more variety in the gameplay rather than the get-to-the-temple-then-do-the-temple- get-to-the-next-temple etc, affairs of previous titles. There is also the song of the hero quest where you must journey down to the three provinces and find the dragon of that area so that they might teach you the a part of the song the hero. This quest also keeps the game throwing new things at you so that you never get bored or lulled by repetitiveness.
Obviously it would not be a Zelda game without a large selection of items to help you with your quest. Most of items in the game use Wii motion plus in someway or another, for instance one of new, and one of the best, items is the beetle. The beetle is like a little remote controlled robot that can fly around you for a certain amount of time. You control the beetle by tilting the Wii remote up, down, left and right and can make the beetle go pretty much anywhere unless you hit something or run out of stamina. The beetle can also cut thin ropes, collect hearts, rupees and arrows, and pick up bombs and drop them wherever you please. Another item that makes good use of Wii motion plus is the bow and arrow, the way you control the bow and arrow is similar to the archery in Wii Sports Resort. You get out your bow, hold the C button, pull the nunchuck back like you’re drawing a bow, aim with the Wii remote and release the C button to fire. Bombs also make reappearance; only this time there’s a difference. Firstly you can pick up wild bombs and store them in your bomb bag so you don’t have to buy them as much and it is easier to fill your bag, Secondly you can throw bombs and also roll them. If you do an overhead throwing motion while holding a bomb, you will throw it but if you make do an under-arm bowling motion, you will roll the bomb so that it can go further and roll into tunnels and underneath stuff, also by twisting the Wii remote as you roll the bomb you can put spin on it an make it curve as it rolls. Another new item is the bug net. Throughout Hyrule you can find these little bugs that will hop around or cling to rocks and other surfaces. If you creep up on these bugs, taking care not to scare them, and swing your bug net you can catch them. You also have to think about the way in which you swing the bug net, for high up bugs you’ll want a large over-head swing while for bugs on the ground you’ll want an underarm scooping motion. Another new edition to the Zelda franchise is the ability to upgrade your items.
Throughout your adventure you will find little treasures of varying rarity, like a horn, a blue feather, a gold skull and other such treasures. Once you’ve collected enough of these little treasures you can go to the gear guy in the bazaar on Skyloft and he will upgrade your items with your treasures for a few rupees. Nearly every item can be upgraded, you can make your bow more powerful, your slingshot fire multiple seeds, and your beetle faster. The upgrading is not only confined to items as you can also upgrade your potions. By using the bugs and insects you find around Hyrule you can power up your potions to make the effects last longer or be able to use them more than once. This upgrading is a great new features and adds a RPG-like element into the game, it also increase the content as you will spend time collecting treasures and bugs in order to increase your potions and items to the maximum level. Skyward Sword is filled with all kinds of creatures and characters through, Skyloft and the surface world below. All the characters are very well animated and have a real sense of personality and feel more alive than people in the past games. The new creatures are surprisingly funny and well designed making them a real part of the world and not just a generic prop. Your new assistant is called Fi and is blue spirit living inside your sword. Fi sounds a lot like a computer and is always giving you her “analysis” of your surroundings and telling you the probability of your success. This AI-like personality makes her one of the best helpers ever, she is one lest annoying and gives you helpful advice when you need it, without giving the answer to your problem directly.However thier are many points where she jumps out your sword to state the obvious and to tell the answers to puzzels or to tell you what you already know. She may not have the friendliness of Navi or the in depth character of Midna but she certainly is one of the better companions of the Zelda games.
My main bad point with the game is the difficulty. The overworlds are too linear for an adventure game and takes the fun out of discovering palces when its obvious where your ment to go. Fi also will tell exacly what to at times and removes the challenge of working out your next destination by yourself. The enemies, although great fun, are slighty too leenient and a times alomost look silly has they display exacly how to beat them and wait a fair while before actually stricking at you.
When Skyward Sword was announced I was among those who would have liked to see a more realistic, grittier side to the Zelda series, but having played the game its clear Nintendo made the right choice. The graphics are part way between a realistic and cell-shaded, cartoony art style making the game look brighter and more colourful than previous titles and because the story also feels more bright and colourer, the graphics and the story compliment each other.
The music is some of the best the Zelda games have ever heard, or even video games in general. The music is full of sweeping orchestral pieces and every location and every main character has their own distinctive theme. Although they are maybe not a catchy as other tunes, the music still, at points, takes your breath away.
My Rating – 9.7 A true masterpiece worthy of the highest praise and an amazing ending to Zelda’s 25th anniversary. It’s not something that’s said lightly, but the Zelda series has never really been this good.