Nintendo Proves That It Still Reigns Supreme in the Video Game Kingdom
It's been a little more than five years since the Wii was released to the public and since then we've all seen the rise of motion-sensing based games. The thing about these games is that they have either been shameless cash-ins that want to make money off of the newest trends or they feature simple maneuvers that could easily be replaced with a button press. Now with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Nintendo decided to fully incorporate everything that the Wii has to offer and it pays off immensely.
Skyward Sword is set before all of the other games in the series on the floating island of Skyloft where Link and Zelda are longtime friends instead of hero and princess. After finishing a ceremony for the godess, Hylia, Zelda is pulled off of her Loftwing and falls beneath the clouds to the surface below. It then becomes Link's job to rescue Zelda. The most surprising factor about Skyward Sword is the story. Nintendo does a fantastic job creating an interesting and emotional tale this time around and is far above the standards set in a series where story was more of an afterthought. The story is interesting and engaging throughout the entire game, but becomes incredible towards the tail end which builds up to a truly epic climax.
The lands created in Skyward Sword are fantastic and benefit from its wonderful art style. The impressionist art style is the result of melding the dark, realistic tone of Twilight Princess and the light-hearted, cartoony world of The Wind Waker together, and creating a new look that is able to appeal to all Zelda fans. This is the first game in the series that features orchestral music and its contribution creates a sense of adventure and excitement. The main theme and the theme that plays while flying through the sky are just as memorable as past songs in the series.
Skyward Sword is really able to diversify itself when it comes to exploring the world. The skies of Skyloft are big and vast just like The Great Sea from Wind Waker while the land below is more compact and puzzle-focused just like the series' famous dungeons. The dungeons themselves are the most clever and some of the most difficult in the series. They offer challenges that require Link to use everything at his disposal, and are never repeated for the sake of filling space. The puzzles seen in all of the past games like block-pushing and torch-lighting are thrown out in favor of more complex and challenging puzzles. A lot of famous elements from the series like weapons and enemies are taken out in order to innovate, but it doesn't leave the game lacking. In fact, I barely even noticed.
The main draw of the game is the enhancement in combat. The predetermined swipes with the Wii remote used in Twilight Princess are vastly improved with the help of Wii Motion Plus. Enemy and boss encounters are far more challenging than in previous games due having to consider how the sword will be swung. Enemies will block attacks coming in from one direction, so the player has to realize this and determine a different strategy. Waggling the remote and swinging like a madman won't cut it as the combat requires a level of skill that is difficult to learn at first, but greatly rewards the player when figured out. The motion controls are used in a huge variety of ways like swinging swords, aiming bows, swimming, skydiving, and flying. Skyward Sword uses the largest amount of motion control scenarios I've ever seen, and they all work without wildly flailing around.
It took Nintendo five years to really prove to the world what was so great about the Wii, and although this game came out at the end of the Wii's lifetime, it was able to allow the console to go out with a bang instead of whimpering alone in a dark corner. With its compelling story, fantastic gameplay, and beautiful art style, this entry is one of the best in the entire series. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a perfect example as to why people play video games.
Final Verdict: 10/10
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